A Mobile Court currently working in the Unity State capital, Bentiu, on Saturday released a 20-year-old woman who was locked up by her parents for refusing to get married.
The court started work in the state on 3 December.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Madeng Latjor Madeng told Radio Tamazuj on Monday that the woman was set free after spending four months in prison after her parents orchestrated her arrest because she refused to marry a 60-year-old man.
“We dismissed the case because her detention for four months was connected to forced marriage. When we did our investigations, we found that the lady was forced to marry a 60-year-old man who she does not like, and her parents, father, and mother, had agreed to marry her off to that man,” he explained. “The mobile court freed her from detention on Saturday because her detention was unlawful and it is not acceptable in our constitution.”
Latjor said the parents of the lady said she was irresponsible and has been moving from one man to another which spoilt the image of their family.
Meanwhile, Dr. Riek Koang, a civil society activist, welcomed the woman’s release from detention and explained that her parents forced her to marry the old man because of the money the latter gave them.
“It is not good for our community to force their children into marriage,” he advised. “It is very important that we send our children to school to continue with their education.”
On Monday, the mobile court also sentenced a man to prison for two years after raping an 18-year-old girl.
“The reason for his sentence to jail is because he raped an 18-year-old girl this year in the area of Bentiu,” Latjor stated. “He has also been fined SSP 500,000 which he paid to the family of the lady and he is to spend two years in prison. The girl is recovering at a health facility and she is okay.”
According to the assistant public prosecutor, when the mobile court is in the state, the backlog of cases will be significantly reduced.