URGENT ACTION
Businessman ARBITRARILY detained for 4 months  
Kerbino Agok Wol, a South Sudanese businessman and philanthropist, has been languishing in detention since 27 April. He is being held at the National Security Service (NSS) headquarters in Juba.  He has been denied access to a lawyer and has not been informed of any charges against him. His health has deteriorated since he was detained, and he has not been given adequate medical care.
Kerbino Agok Wol, a 36-year-old South Sudanese businessman and philanthropist, was summoned by the NSS on 27 April. Kerbino is the CEO of KASS Security Company and the founder of the Nile Foundation, a charity. Upon his arrival at the NSS offices to answer the summons, he was informed that he was being detained.
Although he has been allowed family visits, he has not been informed of any charges against him, and he has also been denied access to a lawyer. 
Amnesty International is also concerned that he has been held in solitary confinement for a period exceeding two months. His health condition has deteriorated over the past four months due to conditions of detention and there are concerns that he is not receiving the medical treatment he needs.  
Please write immediately in English, Arabic or your own language:
•	Calling on South Sudanese authorities to release Kerbino Agok Wol, or charge him with a recognizable criminal offence in accordance with international law and standards; 
•	        Calling on South Sudanese authorities to ensure that Kerbino Agok Wol is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment while in detention; 
•	Calling on them to ensure Kerbino Agok Wol is granted regular access to his family, any healthcare he may require from a qualified medical practitioner and a lawyer of his choice.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 21 NOVEMBER 2018 TO:

President of the Republic of South Sudan 
Salva Kiir Mayardit
Twitter: @RepSouthSudan
Minister for National Security in the Office of the President 
Obuto Mamur Mete
Salutation: Your Excellency 

Salutation: Your Excellency 

South Sudan has no postal system. Please send your appeals in the care of diplomatic representatives accredited to your country,
listed below. Mr Maker Ayuel Deng, Embassy of The Republic Of South Sudan, Winchester House, 259-269 Old Marylebone Road NW1 5RA, 020 7339 3100, Fax 020 7339 3001, info@embrss.org.uk,https://embrss.org.uk/

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. 

URGENT ACTION
Businessman ARBITRARILY detained for 4 months    
ADditional Information
Since the start of South Sudan’s internal armed conflict in December 2013, hundreds of people, mostly men, have been detained under the authority of the National Security Service (NSS) and Military Intelligence Directorate in various detention facilities across the capital city, Juba. Many of those who have been detained have been held under the category of “political detainees” on allegations that they have communicated with or supported the opposition. 

Amnesty International has documented numerous arbitrary detentions by the NSS in multiple facilities where detainees are often subjected to torture and other ill-treatment – some held incommunicado without access to a lawyer, or family members. Others have been forcibly disappeared. In the NSS prison headquarters in the Jebel Neighbourhood, detainees are fed a monotonous diet of beans and posho. Most detainees sleep on the floor. Some have been badly beaten, especially during interrogation, or as a form of punishment.  Due to the poor conditions of the prisons, as well as inadequate access to medical care, the health of those detained often deteriorates.

Prolonged and arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment have all been frequently employed by the authorities in South Sudan since the initial outbreak of the conflict in December 2013. But there appears to have been an increase in the targeting of those seen to be aligned with the opposition following the clashes between government and opposition forces in Juba in July 2016 as part of the government’s increasingly brutal counter-insurgency campaign against real and perceived opponents. 

South Sudan’s political environment has become increasingly intolerant of any form of criticism of government actions and policies, leading to intimidation, harassment and detention of civil society activists, human rights defenders and independent journalists. This has led to an environment of self-censorship for media and human rights workers where, with the pervasive state surveillance, people no longer feel safe to speak freely and openly about the country’s ongoing conflict.

Name: Kerbino Agok Wol
Gender m/f: male

UA: 159/18 Index: AFR 65/9000/2018 Issue Date: 29 August 2018