Michael Christopher, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Watan daily Arabic Newspaper

The editor in-chief of Al-Watan Arabic newspaper has been released on bail after spending a day in police custody for publishing an article that allegedly defamed the police force.

Michael Christopher was arrested and detained at Juba town police station on Wednesday.

“I’ve been released after long procedures which is not understandable and contradicts completely the spirit and letter of the criminal law in South Sudan,” he told Eye Radio shortly after his release on Thursday evening.

Christopher said his detention came after he wrote an article about blackmail and corruption in the police service in 2019.

The article talked about the involvement of three police officers in the killing of a Sudanese national name Abdulatif Ahmed Omar.

Following the article, he stated that suspects were arrested, charged and jailed for the crime.

However, the journalist added that the director of the criminal department in the former Jubek state then opened a case against him, accusing him of defaming the police force, leading to his arrest.

This is the second time Michael Christopher has been detained in a span of about 8 months.

He was rleased from arbitrary detention at the NSS cell about 6 months ago for covering protests against Omar al-Bashir, who was later ousted.