![Adil Faris Mayat. [Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IcNtyTGY_400x400.jpg?resize=1000%2C616&quality=89&ssl=1)
Amira Al Nahawi, speaking to Sudans Post from the Egyptian capital Cairo, confirmed that her husband was freed at around 12:00 local time and was in good health.
“I thank God that Adil has been released by the National Security Service. It has been a very difficult two weeks, and we have been living in fear and uncertainty. He is back home now, and we are relieved that he is safe,” she said.
When asked if she had been informed about the reason for his arrest, Amira said she had received no official explanation.
“No one has told me why Adil was detained, and I have not been contacted by the authorities at any point. I was not in Juba when it happened, and I have not been given any details regarding the circumstances of his arrest. We are still in the dark about what led to his disappearance,” she said.
Faris, a former director of the state-owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation (SSBC) and a correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, disappeared on January 23 after reportedly being taken by unidentified gunmen.
His wife raised the alarm in a Facebook post, urging law enforcement agencies, family, and friends to assist in locating him. Police spokesperson, Colonel John Kassara Koang Nhial, told Sudans Post at the time that he was unaware of Faris’ disappearance but pledged to investigate.
“I’m not aware of his disappearance… I will try my level best to contact our officers in different police stations to confirm whether he’s having some personal problem in which maybe a case was opened against him or not. If there was nothing of this kind at all, then I will also report back to you that he’s not in custody of the police,” Kassara said.
Faris’ detention has drawn renewed attention to the state of press freedom in South Sudan, where journalists frequently face harassment, arbitrary arrests, and prolonged detention without trial.
His case is not isolated. In November 2024, Emmanuel Monychol Akop, editor-in-chief of The Dawn newspaper, was arrested by NSS and has remained missing since.
Patrick Oyet, president of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), expressed concerns about Monychol’s disappearance, citing laws that require arrested individuals to be presented before a court within 24 hours.
At the moment we do not have any official information. What we have is informational information. His whereabouts are not known, and people only suspect that he is in the Blue House [NSS Internal Security Bureau (ISB)],” Oyet said in a statement extended to Sudans Post on January 25.
The recent cases of journalists’ detentions have sparked concerns over South Sudan’s newly amended National Security Service Act. The law, amended in September 2024, grants NSS sweeping powers, including the authority to arrest individuals without a warrant, a move widely criticized by civil society and human rights groups.
Rights activists warn that the expanded mandate could be used to suppress independent journalism and silence government critics. Faris has had previous encounters with security forces. In July 2017, he was detained for a week after allegedly failing to broadcast a live speech by President Salva Kiir.
Media watchdogs have repeatedly accused South Sudan’s authorities of using the NSS to intimidate journalists and control the press. The country ranks among the most dangerous places for journalists in Africa, with cases of arbitrary detention and harassment frequently reported.
