South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"
By Awan Achiek
The embassies of the United States and the United Kingdom have appealed to the transitional government to guarantee journalists the right to practice their profession without fear of harassment, attacks or arbitrary detention.
“On the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, we recognize the vital role that media plays in healthy democracies. Journalists must be guaranteed the ability to practice their profession without fear of harassment, attacks, or arbitrary detention,” said a joint statement issued in Juba on Thursday.
This comes in the wake of journalists in South Sudan commemorating the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists annually held on November 2.
The U.S and UK embassies also reiterated calls for justice for Christopher Allen, a dual national American-British citizen who was killed in 2017 in Kaya border area of Central Equatoria state, while covering clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in opposition and SSPDF.
“We take this opportunity to call again for a credible investigation that leads to accountability for the 2017 death of Christopher Allen, the dual national American-British citizen who was killed while working as a journalist covering clashes between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition,” it said.
Allen was shot in the head during a battle between the SSPDF and SPLA-IO.
Allen had been embedded with rebels from the SPLA-IO to report on the conflict that erupted in December 2013.
After Allen’s death, the government denied reports that its soldiers had deliberately killed him.
The government announced last month the formation of a committee tasked to establish an investigation about the circumstances of the death of journalist Christopher Allen.
