South Sudanese pastors Yat Michael and Peter Yein Reith, who were released from prison last week on Wednesday, August 5 after facing the death penalty, were met with travel bans when the two pastors and their families tried to leave Sudan.
The two pastors and their families had planned on leaving Sudan last week when Khartoum International Airport authorities prevented them from doing so.
"There were concerns the ban had been imposed by Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS)," Christian Solidarity Worldwide-USA, a Christian nonprofit advocating for religious freedom, reports.
"However, they were subsequently informed that the prosecution did in fact issue the travel ban but that there was no record of it in the court's file. They have appealed to the Attorney General but will only receive a decision once the court has made its ruling."
Michael was arrested last December after preaching at Khartoum Bahri Evangelical church. Reith had been arrested a month later after submitting a letter to Sudan's Office of Religious Affairs in Khartoum, asking about Michael's location.
The two South Sudanese pastors were held based on charges of violating the Sudanese constitution and espionage. However, the judge cleared their charges on the premise that the eight months the pastors served in prison while on trial was sufficient time for their punishment.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan in January 2011. South Sudan's population consists of mostly Christians while those of Sudan are Muslim.
