Juba, South Sudan – As he was ushered into a barred holding cell inside an events hall turned courtroom on a morning in mid-October, the bright smile and relaxed demeanour of Riek Machar, South Sudan’s embattled first vice president and opposition leader, belied both the severity of the charges against him and the immense stakes for his country.

In September, Machar and 20 co-defendants from his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) party were indicted on charges of terrorism, treason, and crimes against humanity for their alleged role in a March attack on a military garrison that the government says killed more than 250 soldiers.

Machar has denied the charges while the SPLM-IO has called the accusations “baseless” and “politically motivated”.

As more than

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