Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Juba (Agenzia Fides) - South Sudanese editor who was detained by the country’s national security services on Saturday has been freed.
David Ocen, the news editor of the Catholic-owned Bakhita radio, was picked by security agents after the station aired a news bulletin on clashes between pro-government forces and rebels in Unity state (see Fides 18 and 19/08/2014). The journalist said he was still in shock because he was held in a dark room for three days where he could not tell day from night.
The station was consequently closed and it opening has been delayed over what officials described as demands by the national security agents "for instructions on how the radio will operate". "They want to reduce political programs and this is what we shall discuss tomorrow with them", a Bakhita FM staff told Sudan Tribune on condition of anonymity Tuesday.
Presently, South Sudanese journalists operate in a vacuum of laws as President Salva Kiir is yet to sign the media bills passed by the national assembly last year. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 20/08/2014)
