Letter to H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, c/o Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Sudan to the United Nations
Letter to H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, c/o Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Sudan to the United Nations
4 September 2018
Your Excellency,
Re: Detention of Peter Biar Ajak in South Sudan
The University of Cambridge would like to express its deepest concern over the arbitrary arrest and detention on Saturday 28 July 2018 of Cambridge PhD student and youth activist Peter Biar Ajak by South Sudan's National Security Service (NSS).
The University would like to add its voice to those of the Heads of Mission in the South Sudan capital of Juba of Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, who have expressed concern about Peter's continued detention, now more than 38 days and counting.
The University is deeply concerned about Peter's welfare, his access to legal representation and the violation of his rights in accordance with the Constitution of South Sudan, which guarantees all South Sudanese people liberty and security of person, due process, and freedom of expression and association.
We therefore call on the government to either release Peter Biar Ajak, or to bring charges against him in a timely manner in accordance with the rule of law and to grant him access to a lawyer.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Stephen J. Toope
The Vice-Chancellor
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