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Autocratic ruler: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir
Photo: SAMIR BOL / AFP
The Union of Journalists in South Sudan is demanding the release of six colleagues arrested in connection with a video of President Salva Kiir that was shared on social media.
The video, recorded in December, shows the 71-year-old autocrat getting a wet leg at a public event, possibly urinating in his own pants.
"We demand a quick investigation from the secret service and the release of the journalists," said union chairman Oyet Patrick of the German Press Agency on Saturday evening.
The six employees of the state television station SSBC are accused of having distributed the 38-second video on the Internet.
According to the US organization Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ), the secret service arrested her on Tuesday;
a South Sudanese minister has confirmed the arrests.
The CPJ also called for the release of the six men in a statement Friday.
According to the journalists' union, the video material was not broadcast on SSBC.
As it circulated on the internet, there were discussions as to whether Kiir was still fit to rule and whether such scenes should be shown.
Human rights activist Bol Deng told the German Press Agency that if a citizen is accused of a crime, it must be clarified in court.
South Sudan has been independent since 2011.
In 2013, civil war broke out in the oil-rich and conflict-ridden country, killing thousands and fleeing millions.
For a good two years, the country has been led by a fragile transitional government led by President Kiir and former rebel leader Riek Machar.
The UN accuses those in power of inciting violence, suppressing political freedom and embezzling public funds.
So far not a single national election has been held in South Sudan;
a vote is scheduled for 2024.
According to Reporters Without Borders, independent journalists are repeatedly threatened and assaulted, accused and attempted to intimidate, especially by state security forces.
'Whole newspaper circulations were confiscated;
Threats, censorship and self-censorship are rampant,” writes the international organization.
che/dpa
