A top police officer in Yei River State wants the trial of SPLA soldiers who were arrested for alleged human rights abuses to be expedited.
Police Commissioner Yoasa Lujang Kamba told Radio Tamazuj today that there are many soldiers who were arrested for committing human rights abuses.
He pointed out the soldiers are being held in military detention centers without trial. Lujang explained that the suspects include a government soldier accused of raping a 70-year-old woman in Lainya, an SPLA soldier accused of killing a school pupil in Yei and four other SPLA soldiers accused of killing Sister Veronika Rackova from Slovakia in 2016.
The police commissioner stressed that the accused soldiers should appear before a military court in the area, while calling for establishment of military courts in the state to restore access to justice.
Meanwhile, several human rights activists in Yei have welcomed the appeal made by the police commissioner to try soldiers who are in detention centers over alleged human rights violations.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in July of 2016, Yei River State has witnessed human right abuses including extrajudicial killings, rape and looting of properties.