Jame Kolok, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy and Accountable Governance, and Wani Michael, executive director of OKAY Africa, were among detained protesters | Credit | Courtesy

The European Union has expressed concerns over what it called “unnecessary and disproportionate” force used to suppress peaceful protests that took place last month at Mobil roundabout in Juba.

On March 30, some young people took to the streets to demonstrate against the killing of singer Trisha Cee and called for urgent reforms within the health sector and the traffic police.

Some of the activists were briefly detained by the police but later released in the evening hours.

According to the EU, these arrests raised concerns about the constitutional rights of South Sudanese citizens to express their discontent peacefully and publicly.

In a statement seen by Eye Radio, the EU said it was concerned by the force used to suppress the peaceful demonstrations.

It stressed the importance of guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly for every citizen, including creating the necessary space for civil society to operate.

The European Union further urged the government to allow all kinds of political expressions in the country, including peaceful demonstrations.

It also pushed for the drafting of a permanent Constitution that is led and owned by the people of South Sudan.