Flags of the Troika Countries | File photo.

Embassies of the western world in Juba have expressed grave concern over the Transitional National Legislative Assembly’s passage of legislation that gives the National Security Service the authority to conduct arrests and detentions without warrants.

Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United State the bill “would constitute a significant step away from the opening of political and civic space, which is a prerequisite for genuine and peaceful elections to take place.”

The Embassies added that the “enactment of the bill into law would be regrettable at any time, but particularly now when it would undermine the transitional government’s assertions that political and civic space exists.”

They emphasized that “South Sudanese should have the right to participate freely in political and civic expression without fear of arbitrary arrest or intimidation by security personnel.”