South Sudan’s Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth has criticized a report published by human rights group Amnesty International accusing the government of holding prisoners inside shipping containers near Juba with inadequate water and ventilation.
The right group said in a report published on Friday that dozens of prisoners in South Sudan are being held in conditions tantamount to torture, crammed into metal containers in baking heat with minimal water and food.
Makuei told reporters on Friday that the report is false and fabricated. He acknowledged, however, that the Gorom area is a military site.
“Gorom is an area for militias where they run their activities and no citizen can reach there,” said Makuei. “How did Amnesty International reach there? Secondly, we don’t have political prisoners in South Sudan,” he added.
Separately, Makuei revealed that the cabinet on Friday has directed for the release of war prisoners and for them to be handed to their relatives through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
File photo: Michael Makuei (Credit: UNMISS)