15. The Complainants
allege that in the wake of the fabricated criminal case against
Modong's Advocate - John Gerry, the Public Prosecutor of the Ministry of Justice
and Constitutional Affairs, RSS/Juba, ordered for the waiving of Advocate John
Gerry's immunity in a letter dated 4th November 2021. The Complainants submit
that the President of the Bar Association admitted to have been under pressure by
armed men from National Security and Military Intelligence who called at his office
on several occasions. Eventually, the President of the Bar Association waived
Advocate John Gerry's immunity, by means of a letter, in order to allow his arrest
for alleged obstruction of justice in the Criminal case against Modong.
16. On 21 December 2021, Advocate John Gerry became aware that pressure had been
exerted for the waiving of his immunity when he went to the police station where
the fabricated case had been opened. Advocate John Gerry was informed that the
police could no longer continue with the case of Modong against Mading, and that
Mading had ordered that he be arrested by the soldiers from South Sudanese
authorities.
17. On the night of the same day, the afore-mentionedsoldiers
abducted Advocate John
Gerry, forced him to get into a Toyota- Pickup with tinted windows. The soldiers
insulted him, and assaulted him by pressing' him hard with a plier, so much that he
sustained a serious wound on his right thumbnail, then they pushed him outside
the car to the ground.
18. Further
to that, on 12 January 2022, while again pursuing Modong's case, the
Advocate was once again attacked by Mading and about 10 soldiers and 12 police
officers from the Lolqgp ,II Police Station on th~,putskirts of Juba. The advocate
averred that he locked himself in his car and refl.tsed to open the door until the
Attorney General was called to take cognizance of the incident. Advocate John
Gerry was then taken to the Lologo II Police Station where he was detained on the
basis of the waiver of immunity letter. Although Mading had given orders not to
release the Advocate, at a hearing the following day the Prosecutor ordered his
release on bail.
19. Thereafter, on 14 January 2022, Advocate John Gerry returned to the Police Station
to ask that Modong's case against Mading be referred to court for trial. The Police
informed Mading that Advocate John Gerry had returned for the Modong case.
Mading rushed to the Police Station with the soldiers and pressed the Prosecutor to
re-arrest Advocate John Gerry. Seeing that the situation was getting worse,
Advocate John Gerry decided to leave the scene. Mading and the South Sudanese
soldiers pursued him, but he managed to escape. Mading and the aforementioned
soldiers went to the Office of the Public Prosecutor and threatened to kill the
Prosecutor for failing to re-arrest Advocate John Gerry. In fear, the Prosecutor
locked herself in her office until she was rescued by the Police.
20. The Complainants
further alleged that on 25 January 2022, Advocate John Gerry
was supposed to travel from Juba airport to Nairobi, but the Immigration Police
arbitrarily detained him at the airport for 4 hours for no reason. A
€I
Gerry's trip was cancelled and his National Passport confiscated. T~V1Ii~~~~.
informed by Brig. Gen. Aleer Deng, Chief of Staff to the Directqj' ~~f
nona . "I~ o;:~
Passport and Irrunigr.ati0r:' that a tr~vel ban on t~e lav:yer had bee:
by Gen. Atem Marol Mabior, the DIrector of Nationality, Passport ~":til.d~' rn.{~~~t10/(:~ [
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inw
,
77th
Ordinary Session of the ACHPR
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