The spokesman of South Sudan’s national government Michael Makuei Lueth says the country currently enjoys the highest standard of media freedom in the region.

Lueth denied government repression of journalists. He was responding to the release of a joint report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called, ‘The Price of Silence: Freedom of Expression under Attack in South Sudan.’

The 15-page report documents numerous instances of arrests, detentions, threats, expulsion, harassment and acts of overt censorship by the National Security Service in connection with a ‘cover-up’ of mass extrajudicial killings of civilians.

The two rights groups also demanded from the Information Minister himself a “formal retraction” of verbal censorship orders made earlier this year.

“I think our journalists are the only people enjoying full rights in the region,” responded Lueth, as quoted by Sudan Tribune in a report on Saturday.

Lueth added, “In South Sudan we have given freedom to the journalists except on issues to do on national security which is the security of nation and his people.” 

File photo: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir

Related:

Rights groups slam ‘abuses’ against media by South Sudan's National Security Service (1 Aug.)

Transcript: South Sudan Information Minister warns press (6 Nov. 2013)