Over 500 stranded in S.Sudan's main prison without conviction: official

The acting head of South Sudan's Prison Service said on Friday that at least 513 inmates awaiting trial are stranded in Juba Central Prison due to delays in legal proceedings by the country's judicial service.

Lt. Gen. Samir Khamis Suleiman told Xinhua in an interview that backlog of cases in the judiciary has caused overwhelming congestion in the prison.

He said the facility currently holds over 1,000 inmates, more than double of the initial capacity of 500 the Prison was intended to host.

"These people are just sitting, eating and not doing any work. We are not benefiting from them. We are appealing to the Judiciary to speed up the trial of these people and those who are not guilty should immediately be freed," Suleiman said.

He called on the country's judiciary to expedite trial of suspects to reduce overcrowding in the prisons.

War-torn South Sudan has a weak justice system that has come under criticism due to shortage of judges and backlog of cases.

Suleiman said that at least 66 juvenile inmates are currently being held at the facility together with adult prisoners, calling on donors to support establishment of reformatory centers for juvenile prisoners. Endit