S. Sudan sentences 24 soldiers to prison for human rights abuse

YEI – A local court in South Sudan’s Yei River County has found at least twenty-four members of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) guilty of rapes, killings and looting.

The twenty-four soldiers were arrested in August, November 2019, and January 2020 in then Yei River state for committing atrocities against civilians and for selling weapons belonging to the army.

Speaking to journalists this afternoon, Major-General Lul Ruai Koang, the SSPDF spokesman, confirmed the sentencing.

“They were convicted for various crimes ranging from rape to looting and sale of personnel guns,” Lul said said, adding that those sentenced includes a lieutenant and a private.

Lul said the terms of their prison sentences range from two (2) to fourteen (14) years saying the convicts include corporal Thuch Majok, who has been stripped to the rank of private, dismissed from SSPDF, fined SSP 500,000 and sentenced to 14 years in prison for rape.

“The importance of the occasion was held is an indication that we at the SSPDF don’t condone the commission of crimes against civilians and the government,” Lul further added.