South Sudan critic held in UAE for year, HRW says

South Sudanese government critic Samuel Peter Oyay has been detained in the United Arab Emirates for a year without charge, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday as it called for his immediate release.

HRW said Oyay fled South Sudan for security reasons in 2014 and settled in the UAE, where he ran a business and regularly wrote articles denouncing corruption in the South Sudanese government.

The rights group said plainclothes officers arrested him in September 2025, but his family has not been told the reason. HRW said relatives have been allowed to visit him in prison only once since then.

Emirati authorities did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

HRW researcher Joey Shea said the UAE's “zero-tolerance policy toward peaceful criticism” was increasingly targeting critics of Abu Dhabi's foreign allies who live in the country.

HRW said the UAE has strengthened ties with South Sudan in recent years, including hosting President Salva Kiir three times in 2025.