Peter Biar Ajak. Photo: Brooking Institute/File/Family photo
Juba, January 2, 2020 (SSNA) — A prominent South Sudanese economist Peter Biar Aajak who was arrested in July 2018 has been released from South Sudan’s national security notorious blue house, a source with the national security with full knowledge of the matter told the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) today.
The source explained that President Salva Kiir issued an order of a presidential pardon, setting free Peter Biar along with other prisoners.
“Peter Biar, Kerbino Wol Agok, and 30 other prisoners have been released today,” said the official, adding, “He is now a free man waiting to go anywhere he wishes.”
It is widely believed in South Sudan that Peter Biar Ajak, a doctoral student at Cambridge University, was detained because of his critical views against the government and its policies.
Peter’s arrest has drawn condemnations from human rights groups and foreign governments including the United States Congress.