An independent research organization in South Sudan said it is deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Dong Samuel’s death.

A report by the UN Security Council panel of experts published last week said multiple credible sources suggested Aggrey Idri Ezibon, a member of the opposition group SPLM-IO, and Dong Samuel Luak, a human rights lawyer, were likely executed by National Security Service (NSS) agents in January 2017.

Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idri Ezbon were abducted from neighboring Kenya in January 2017.

The Sudd Institute said in a Tuesday statement that Mr. Dong once served as its board secretary until he fled the country in 2014.

“Dong, a gentleman with unmatched integrity and love for his country, served his people with class,” reads the statement in part.
 
The South Sudanese think-tank expressed its solidarity with late Dong’s family, friends, colleagues, and the nation at large. The institute said it stands for the right of all citizens to express their views, political or otherwise, freely.

It called upon the government of South Sudan to investigate and lay to bare facts about why and who killed Dong Samuel and Aggrey Idri.