South Sudan renowned journalist released after interrogation

Security forces in South Sudan have released a renowned journalist who was arrested two days ago, saying his detention was a mistake.

Mading Ngor was freed on Friday after two days of questioning, with government officials saying his arrest was unauthorized.

The leading journalist’s detention was met with huge criticism as many said the move heralds a new wave of crackdown on media in the African country.

Rights groups accuse the Juba government of tightening its grip on the media for running debates on how the country could end the devastating civil war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the past 14 months.

Declining freedom for press

Last week, Reporters Without Borders issued its latest annual ranking on the global situation of press freedom, which shows a rise in restrictions on South Sudanese media.

The report has listed South Sudan as the 125th worst nation out of 180, showing a six place drop in its ranking compared to the previous year.

The media rights body said in that report that violence in South Sudan has had devastating impacts on media, adding that over the past months “news outlets were warned not to cover security issues and journalists were unable to work properly because of the war.”

Security officials closed down the Nation Mirror newspaper in earlier in February on charges of “publishing anti-government articles.”

The Juba Monitor, another popular daily has also been threatened with closure, while some reports claim journalists working for the newspaper have been beaten. 

The ongoing unrest, which erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, has also led to the death of pro-Juba journalists.

Last month, unknown gunmen killed five correspondents of a state-run media outlet in the Western Bahr al Ghazal State.

MS/MKA/HMV