Prominent South Sudanese activist Peter Biar Ajak, along with compatriot Abraham Chol Keech, faces charges in a US district court for allegedly conspiring to purchase and illegally export weapons valued at millions of dollars.
The accusations involve colluding to acquire items like automatic rifles, grenade launchers, Stinger missile systems, and hand grenades, prohibited by two US laws, destined for South Sudan.
Despite the UN Security Council’s arms embargo on South Sudan since 2018, the accused have not responded to the allegations.
The court disclosed an illicit scheme involving a $4 million contract for weapons, alongside a “fake contract” for consulting services, including communication equipment for refugee camps.
Peter Biar Ajak, a Harvard fellow critical of President Salva Kiir’s government, previously faced arrest in 2018, resulting in a two-year prison sentence, later pardoned by the president in January 2020.
The South Sudanese foreign affairs ministry has yet to comment on the recent arrest.
