A special criminal court in Sinja town in Sudan’s Sennar State has acquitted and released a South Sudanese man accused of joining the northern rebel group SPLA-N.

The court, set up for the prosecution of suspected associates of the Sudan People Liberation Army-North, has been hearing cases of 78 SPLA-N suspects in detention, facing charges under penal code and anti-terrorism law.

Taj Edden Makuer Bol, the man now freed by the court, was one of five South Sudanese nationals who had served in the Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) in the then united Sudan.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Friday, a source who preferred anonymity said that the accused became handicapped in the prison has been unable to attend the sessions and pleadings.

The authorities barred Makuer from attending court sittings during the investigations because they knew that he became handicapped while in detention, allegedly owing to torcture by the National Security Service after his arrest in Damazin, according to the same source.

Meanwhile, the court also adjudicated in the case of Min Allah Hussain, after his defence witnesses proved his innocence.