South Sudan accused of 'torturing' prisoners

Amnesty International says dozens of prisoners in South Sudan are being held in conditions amounting to torture.

Dozens of detainees in #SouthSudan are at risk of death in metal shipping containers https://t.co/TFKscJuXBy pic.twitter.com/aGlwQQGnDD

— amnestypress (@amnestypress) May 27, 2016

The group added that the detainees are crammed in poorly ventilated containers with minimal access to food and water.

“Detainees are not given adequate food or water and are subjected to beatings and are held without access to family and not presented to court,” said Elizabeth Deng, Amnesty International’s South Sudan researcher.

According to the group, some of the prisoners have died from the punishment; and now the group is calling for the detainees to be released or charged and taken to independent courts.

Most of the prisoners are civilians accused of links to the opposition or rebel groups. The Sudanese army is yet to comment on the allegations of torture.

Such cases are not new to the country. In October 2015, government soldiers were accused of killing at least 50 people in the town of Leer by stuffing them into a shipping container in baking heat.

AFP