Lawyers representing activist Peter Biar Ajak and businessman Kerbino Wol have expressed displeasure in the way the two cases are being handled by the court of appeal.

On 11 June, the high court in Juba sentenced to jail activist Peter Biar Ajak and philanthropist Kerbino Wol following accusations that they threatened the security of the state. Biar was slapped with two years and Wol received 10 years. Five other co-accused got five years each.

Biar and Kerbino were initially arrested by National Security Service (NSS) in 2018.

Philip Anyang Ngong, the defense lawyer for prominent activist Peter Biar Ajak, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that his client’s case has never been heard since the appeal was lodged and they wanted the case to be heard expeditiously.

“The appeal was filed in early June and we are still waiting for the court of appeal to respond. According to the law, it should not take more than 45 days for the court to respond, but things are now different,” Anyang said.

“It is a concern because two months have passed and the appeal is still with the first opinion,” he added.

Ajak Mayol Bior, lawyer for one of the other convicts, businessman Kerbino Wol, expressed concern about the court’s delay in commencing the hearing of his appeal. “People often wait for more than a month to get the respond from the court of appeal, but it has now gone beyond the normal procedure,” Mayol said.

The lawyer urged the court to expedite the hearing of the appeal that was filed challenging the ruling of the high court.