Peter Biar Ajak

Peter Biar Ajak (born November 21, 1983) is a

Peter Biar Ajak was born in the town of Bor in what is now South Sudan, in November 1983, six months after the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out.^[6] At the age of 6, he was forced to flee the country as one of over 100,000 in the Red Army of South Sudan. He sought refuge first in Ethiopia in 1989, then traveled back through Sudan to Kenya in 1992, where he stayed in a refugee camp for most of the decade.^[7] At age 16, he was one of roughly 4,000 "Lost Boys of Sudan" resettled as a refugee in the United States.^[8]

In the United States, Ajak excelled academically, graduating from

On December 17, 2010, Ajak married Nyathon Hoth Mai.[14] They have three children.^[15]

Career and activism

Determined to help South Sudan develop and succeed, Ajak returned to his country after completing his degree at Harvard. He became the World Bank's In-Country Economist and advised the government on the economic development of the country, including by contributing to the South Sudan Development Plan, the South Sudan Growth Strategy, and South Sudan Vision 2040. Following South Sudan gaining independence on July 9, 2011, Ajak joined the Government as Senior Advisor to the Minister of National Security, serving as the Coordinator of Policy and Strategy in the Office of the Minister of National Security in the Office of the President of South Sudan. In this role, he contributed to the development of South Sudan White Paper on Intelligence and National Security, the South Sudan National Security Policy & Strategy, and the South Sudan National Security Act.^[16] Ajak also became the Co-Country Director, and later a Senior Advisor, for the International Growth Centre (IGC) – an economic policy institute based at the London School of Economics and University of Oxford.^[17] In January 2012, he founded the Center for Strategic Analyses and Research (C-SAR) – an independent policy think tank in Juba. Prior to his arrest, Ajak served as a political economy analyst for UNICEF from 2017 to 2018.^[18]

Ajak also focused professionally on engaging and creating opportunities for dialogue among South Sudanese youth. In September 2010, he founded and became the CEO of South Sudan Wrestling Entertainment,^[19] which organized wrestling tournaments throughout the country to bring young people together and celebrate the country's unique culture.^[20] Ajak also co-founded the South Sudan Young Leaders Forum (SSYLF) in January 2017 to bring together young leaders from across ethnic and political divides and encourage them to deliberate South Sudan's challenges through peaceful dialogue.^[21] One of the key initiatives of SSYLF was Generational Exit, which was a campaign to incentivize old leaders to step down and allow a younger generation of leaders to shape the country's future.^[22] Ajak additionally helped establish a national veterans' association called the Red Army Foundation.^[23]

In recognition of his work and achievement, he was named both an

On July 28, 2018, National Security Service (NSS) officials arrested Ajak at the Juba International Airport, where he was scheduled to fly to the town of Awiel for Martyrs' Day celebrations organized by the Red Army Foundation. He was not provided with a legitimate warrant or a written or verbal explanation for his arrest.^[31] Ajak was transported directly from the airport to the notorious Blue House prison, where NSS is headquartered, without being brought before a judge.^[32]

Detention

Ajak's arrest and detention reflected "a deeply troubling pattern of increasing government repression against its critics."

In the Blue House, Ajak was subjected to various due process and human rights violations. He was not formally charged or brought before a court until March 2019, roughly eight months after his arrest. Prison authorities regularly denied visitation rights to Ajak's family and lawyers, the latter of whom were not permitted to meet with him until mid-September 2018. He was also repeatedly denied his right to the presumption of bail. He was subjected to prolonged solitary confinement and inhuman conditions, including restricted food and little to no access to medical care even when he was ill.[36]

In October 2018, a number of detainees staged an armed protest against the rights violations occurring in the Blue House. Ajak did not participate in the protest; instead, he urged the participants to lay down their arms.^[37] On October 7, 2018, while the protest was ongoing, he gave a brief telephone interview with Voice of America in which he discussed the protest and provided basic and publicly known facts about the due process violations occurring in the Blue House.^[38] The protests ended when the prisoners voluntarily surrendered their weapons, which Ajak helped negotiate.^[39]

For nearly four months following the protest, Ajak was cut off entirely from the outside world. He was denied access to his family and lawyers from the time of the protests in early October until late January 2019.^[40]

Trial and conviction

Ajak's first court appearance was on March 21, 2019, during which he was denied bail by the High Court.^[41] He then appeared for a hearing on March 25, 2019, at which point he was issued preliminary charges that lacked any reference to the initial investigation against him and instead focused entirely on the October protest.^[42] On April 26, 2019, four of the five charges were dropped after the state failed to produce evidence or witnesses to support that he had been involved in planning or carrying out the protest.^[43] The charge of "Acts Committed by Several Persons in Furtherance of Common Intention" was kept and a charge of "Participating in Gathering with Intent to Promote Public Violence, Breaches of the Peace or Bigotry" was added. The judge made clear that these two charges were a result of his interview with Voice of America, which he claimed "created fear and insecurity in the public." Ajak's renewed request for bail was denied and reports arose of NSS intimidation of witnesses and the defense lawyers.^[44]

On June 11, 2019, he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. After his conviction, he was transferred from the Blue House to Juba Central Prison, which offered relatively better conditions.^[45]

International support

Ajak's arrest and detention inspired an extent that we carry newspapers to the head of international outcry.

On March 6, 2019, a group of United Nations experts released a statement urging the South Sudanese government to release him immediately and highlighting the widespread and illegal use of broad national security and counter-terrorism legislation to repress free speech and legitimate human rights work.[58]

On June 12, 2019, Genser filed a petition to the

On January 2, 2020, the South Sudanese government announced through a presidential decree run on state media that Ajak was among dozens of prisoners being pardoned.[60] He was released from prison on January 4, 2020.^[61] Following his release, he left South Sudan to visit his wife and children in Nairobi, and to undergo a thorough medical check-up.^[62]

Escape to the United States

In early-to-mid June 2020, Ajak received word from senior government officials in South Sudan that President Salva Kiir had ordered the NSS to either abduct him from Kenya or murder him.^[63] The South Sudanese government had used this tactic before, namely in 2017 when two dissidents, Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Iddris, were abducted from Nairobi and seemingly executed.^[64] He and his family were forced to go into hiding for several weeks until the United States government granted them emergency visas. They fled the country and arrived safely in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 2020.^[65]

Publications

Ajak has written extensively on the situation in South Sudan. In January 2013, he co-wrote an article for