URGENT ACTION

End Two Deportees’ Arbitrary Detention
On 4 July, Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro were deported from a US military base in Djibouti to Juba, South Sudan, as part of the United States government’s mass deportation campaign and have since been arbitrarily detained in an undisclosed location. While credible reports say that they are in the custody of the National Security Service, no official information regarding the two men’s exact current whereabouts has been shared with their lawyers. Amnesty International calls on the South Sudanese authorities to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro, grant them consistent and unmonitored access to their legal representatives, including local counsel, and immediately clarify the legal grounds of their detention.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Monday Semaya Kumba
Emails: mofaic.rss@gmail.com / mofaicss@gmail.com
Facebook: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation of South Sudan

Dear Ambassador Monday Semaya Kumba,

I am writing to express deep concern for Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro, who were deported as part of the United States government’s mass deportation campaign and have since been arbitrarily detained in South Sudan.

On 4 July, Nyo Myint, who originates from Myanmar and entered the United States in 2016 as a refugee as part of the International Organization for Migration resettlement program, and Enrique Arias Hierro, who originates from Cuba and resided in the United States since 1980, were deported from a United States military base in Djibouti to Juba, South Sudan’s capital. Together with six other deportees, the two men were subsequently detained by the South Sudanese authorities without legal justification or clarity regarding their legal status.

Both individuals' legal representatives have been unable to obtain any official information regarding their exact current whereabouts, despite efforts seeking this information. They have not had consistent and unmonitored access to their clients. Their lawyer in Juba has not been able to access and communicate with them. The authorities have not provided any official communication on the exact whereabouts of the two men. However, Amnesty International has received credible reports that they are in the custody of the National Security Service but has not independently verified the whereabouts of the men.

Detention with limited access to their lawyers is a violation under international law and could provide a context in which torture and other ill-treatment may occur, increasing the concern for the two men’s health and wellbeing.

In light of the above, I urgently call on you to immediately disclose the whereabouts of Nyo Myint and Enrique Arias Hierro, grant them consistent and unmonitored access to their legal representatives, including local counsel, and immediately clarify the legal grounds of their detention. I further urge you to ensure that the two men are not forcibly sent to their countries of origin or any other country if they are at real risk of persecution or serious human rights violations as this would be a breach of the principle of non-refoulement as laid out in international human rights law.

Yours sincerely,

Additional information

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump advanced a mass deportation campaign targeting millions of immigrants and people seeking safety. As part of this, eight men – only one of whom was South Sudanese – were deported to South Sudan after a weeks-long legal battle. Two of the eight men have since been released from detention, with Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez repatriated to Mexico. The U.S. government is obligated under international law to ensure that its immigration policies do not commit or increase the risk of human rights violations. While the U.S. has the authority to regulate immigration, it must do so within the framework of its international human rights obligations.
In July 2025, Politico reported that the deportations from the United States to South Sudan are part of an attempt by the South Sudanese government to negotiate the lifting of sanctions imposed on First Vice President, Benjamin Bol Mel, to revoke visa restrictions on South Sudanese nationals, to reactivate a bank account at the New York Federal Reserve, and to support the state’s prosecution of First Vice President and opposition leader, Riek Machar who is still under house arrest. In September, a news outlet reported that South Sudanese authorities denied the existence of any agreement with the U.S. to receive third-country nationals.
Civic space for engagement in public life continues to be under attack and engaging in legitimate civic activities has resulted in arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention, torture, and extra-judicial killings. South Sudan’s security actors and authorities, especially the National Security Service (NSS), systematically harass and target civil society members and individuals critical of the government. On 3 July 2024, the country’s Parliament passed the National Security Service Act 2014 (Amendment) Bill 2024 which seeks to increase NSS’s abusive powers that include, among others, arresting people with or without a warrant.
Throughout the course of the conflict that broke out in South Sudan on 15 December 2013, the NSS has become increasingly powerful, acting as a de facto police force to powerful elites. The NSS and Military Intelligence Directorate have detained hundreds of people, mostly men, in various detention facilities across the country. Amnesty International has documented cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in at least three of the main detention centers in the capital, Juba. It has also documented cases of individuals being detained and threatened by the NSS for freely expressing their opinion that is critical of the government, or who have otherwise been perceived to act against the interests of powerful elites. Relatives of detainees can become persons of interests, increasing their risk of being surveilled and possibly detained if the NSS disapproves of their speech or behaviour.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: English
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 9 March 2026
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PRONOUN: Nyo Myint, Enrique Arias Hierro (both he/him)

Additional TARGETS

His Excellency Mr Nickson Deng Peter Kuccath
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary 
Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan
Ground Floor G10, First Floor F9 – F15, 22-25 Portman Close, W1H 6BS
020 36872366
info@embrss.org.uk
www.embrss.org.uk
Salutation: Your Excellency