By William Madouk Garang
An accrued number of seventy-eight South Sudanese inmates are reportedly awaiting hangman noose while fifty others are sentenced for life imprisonment for alleged drugs offenses and other crimes in Sudan.
Document on life imprisonment dated December 23, 2022, seen by No.1 Citizen newspaper shows that 90 percent of those facing life term imprisonment are teenagers 15 and 20-years-old youth.
Achol Malong, an activist based in Khartoum said on early December she had embarked on the registration of South Sudanese prisoners in Sudan and under what crimes were they imprisoned.
“I started the registration from December 1, 2022, to get the actual figure of South Sudanese who are in the prisons and under what offenses were they convicted,” Achol told No.1 Citizen Newspaper.
Achol added that based on gathered information from prisons, the number of individuals who committed murders and sentenced hanging were over 70, while those penalized for life in prison are 50 individuals.
“We were given a separate list for those who have committed murders and drugs abuse respectively,” the activist noted.
“People convicted under drugs offenses are 50 individuals and those on death row or sentenced to death by hanging are 78 individuals,” she continued.
According to her, those sentenced for life imprisonment are drug abusers, documents and bank-cheque forgers, Bhang and pills or party drug dealers – [pills are illegal drugs sold as tablets].
Ms. Achol stated that she is still collecting the data of South Sudanese who are imprisoned in Sudan and afterward the list will be submitted to the office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees to assist.
“The office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said after the New Year eve they will visit the prisons to see those South Sudanese who were convicted and under which crimes they were sentenced,” she noted.
She further cited she had now started with the registration of inmates who were sent to jail without legal procedures being taken.
“Today we started with the registration of remanded inmates especially those taken from police station to prisons without trial to decide on the case whether the suspect is guilty or not,” Achol stressed.