The special court trying former First Vice President Riek Machar and seven co-defendants has adjourned proceedings until September 25 after prosecutors submitted a written response to defence concerns over alleged security threats.
During the court’s 115th session, Machar’s defence team filed a written application raising concerns about alleged security threats against Machar, his co-defendants and members of the defence team.
At the 116th session in Juba on Wednesday, presiding Judge James Alala Deng said the court would adjourn the proceedings until Friday, after lead prosecutor Ajo Ony’Ohisa submitted the prosecution’s response to the application.
The prosecution did not disclose the contents of its response in court.
“The court is still interrogating the allegation. Meanwhile, we continue the process,” Deng said during the session.
Machar’s lead defence lawyer, Dr. Geri Raymond Legge, confirmed that the defence had received the prosecution’s response and asked the court to allow the defence time to respond in writing at the next hearing.
Deng subsequently adjourned the case until September 25 to allow the defence to respond to the prosecution’s submission.
Machar and the seven other defendants are being tried over violence in Nasir, in Upper Nile State, in March 2025, during which government forces suffered heavy casualties.
They face charges including treason, murder, conspiracy, terrorism, destruction of public property and crimes against humanity. The defendants have denied the charges.
Prosecutors allege that forces aligned with Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO), together with the White Army militia, killed 257 soldiers of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), including military commander General David Majur Dak, during an attack on a military garrison in Nasir.
The prosecution has also alleged that military equipment worth about $58 million was destroyed or seized during the fighting.
and then