Page 11 - ARUBA TODAY

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WORLD NEWS Saturday 5 May 2018

Delayed verdict in South

Sudan's deadly hotel rampage

By SAM MEDNICK 14 years in prison. If found tus of the verdict.
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — guilty of murder, they could South Sudan's criminal pro-
Months have passed since be sentenced to death. cedure code says every
the trial of a dozen South They have pleaded not accused person has the
Sudanese soldiers accused guilty. South Sudan's gov- right to a fair trial where jus-
of gang-raping foreigners ernment, long criticized tice shall not be delayed.
and killing a local journal- by the United Nations and "The delay is unconstitu-
ist in a July 2016 rampage, human rights groups for a tional," local human rights
and both the defense and lack of accountability dur- lawyer Taban Romano told
prosecution say they are ing the country's five-year the AP. The defense law- In this Tuesday, May 30, 2017 file photo, the judges sit in the
courtroom during the trial of South Sudanese soldiers accused
frustrated by the indefinite- civil war, has pointed to yer said his hands are tied of gang-raping foreigners and killing a local journalist during
ly postponed verdict said the Terrain trial as a sign of because as a military law- the country's civil war, in the capital Juba, South Sudan.
to be waiting in the office its "commitment to human yer he has to abide by the Associated Press
of President Salva Kiir. rights, the rule of law and chain of command, which
Victims say they feel forgot- the transparency of the means he speaks only to president. Meanwhile, the international community
ten, while the lawyer for legal system," as deputy the army spokesman who victims of the Terrain ram- to apply pressure to move
the detained soldiers says army spokesman Santo Do- relays the message to the page are calling on the things forward.q
his clients' rights are being mic Chol said last year.
violated while the verdict is The test of accountability,
delayed without apparent however, has stalled with-
reason. out explanation.
"It seems that the interna- "We have no information for
tional community, South why it's not moving forward
Sudan's government and and I'm worried that it's tak-
the organizations involved ing so long," the lawyer for
have forgotten about this the victims, Phillips Anyang
horrible incident," the Ital- Ngong, told the AP.
ian aid worker who was the The lawyer for the ac-
only foreign survivor to tes- cused, Peter Malual Deng
tify in person told The Asso- Lual, called the delay a vio-
ciated Press. "I had hoped lation of his clients' right to
this trial could have cre- a speedy trial. "It would be
ated a precedent for these good if we had a verdict
types of horrific crimes." She as some of them might be
spoke on condition of ano- freed," he said.
nymity for fear of retribu- Throughout the trial, condi-
tion. tions inside the military pris-
The trial began a year ago on have been questioned
in military court for the sol- by both the prosecution
diers accused of raping and the defense. In Octo-
five foreign aid workers, ber, one of the accused
assaulting others and kill- soldiers died in custody. The
ing journalist John Gatluak army said it was due to ill-
while forcing the foreigners ness.
to watch during an attack South Sudan's army says
on the Terrain hotel com- former military chief James
pound in July 2016 while re- Ajongo Mawut signed off
newed fighting erupted in on the verdict before he
the capital, Juba. died in April. The paperwork
The attack was detailed in is sitting with the office of
an AP investigation , with the commander-in-chief,
the United States and oth- said army spokesman Lul
ers expressing outrage. Ruai Koang. He said he
The trial ended in January, couldn't confirm whether
with the verdict expected the president had seen it.
a month later. The president's spokesman,
If convicted of rape, the Ateny Wek Ateny, said he
soldiers could face up to had no idea about the sta-