The group says the latest incident marks the second time in as many months that a Youth League official has been detained at Freedom Hall under unclear circumstances.
In a statement issued on November 24, 2025, SPLM-IO Youth League spokesperson Gattiek Wichar said Nei — who chairs the league’s Constitutional Affairs Committee — was arrested at around 11:00 a.m. following a verbal exchange with a soldier believed to be from the elite Tiger Division. Nei had arrived at Freedom Hall to attend the 24th session of Machar’s trial when the confrontation occurred.
According to the Youth League, soldiers immediately seized Nei, blindfolded him with what the group described as a “dirty cloth,” and assaulted him before whisking him away to an undisclosed location.
For five hours, his whereabouts remained unknown to both colleagues and family members, causing widespread concern within the party’s youth wing. He was eventually released at 3:00 p.m., later discovering he had been held inside the Tiger Division’s Southern Command garrison.
The SPLM-IO Youth League further accused security personnel of preventing Nei from re-entering Freedom Hall to attend the trial — a move it says contradicts the directive of presiding judge James Alala Deng, who in October declared the proceedings open to citizens, lawyers, journalists, civil society groups, and activists.
The group condemned the incident as an unlawful act of intimidation, warning that the excessive use of force by military personnel amounts to a serious abuse of constitutional mandate.
“Weaponising security institutions against citizens and opposition members is illegal and undermines public confidence,” the statement said.
The release also follows an amplified call from senior SPLM-IO officials like Puok Both Baluang, the Acting President Press Secretary in the Office of First Vice President Riek Machar, who wrote on Monday evening that “I unequivocally call for the immediate release of Cde. Lam John Nei.”
The latest detention follows a similar incident in October involving another Youth League official. Alfred Gatmai, the SPLM-IO information secretary for the Mayom County caucus in Juba, was arrested by the National Security Service (NSS) shortly after leaving a courtroom at Freedom Hall. He was held overnight and released the following day without charges.
The SPLM-IO Youth League said the repeated arrests demonstrate a worrying pattern targeting its members, especially those seeking to observe Machar’s court proceedings.
