JUBA, Sudan, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The editor and owner of Sudan's The Citizen daily was arrested and jailed for a day because of his coverage of a corruption investigation involving high-level south Sudanese officials, he said.
Southerner Nhial Bol was released on Tuesday evening from his jail in south Sudan's capital, Juba, and warned other journalists could face a worse fate because the semi-autonomous south Sudan had not yet passed media laws.
"No papers have been shown to me, except for the letter of summons from the police," Bol said on Wednesday after spending a day in a damp cell. "It is strange -- no case has been opened against us in Khartoum and no case here."
The Citizen, a paper which focuses on south Sudan, publishes in Khartoum. A peace deal in January 2005 ended the north-south civil war, shared wealth and power and created a semi-autonomous southern government based in Juba.
Bol said the Juba police had explained to him that his arrest and detainment was in connection with a complaint filed to The Citizen's Khartoum office some days before the arrest.
Bol said the complaints had been made by South Sudan's Internal Affairs Minister Paul Mayom and the national state minister for internal affairs, southerner Aliyu Ayeeni Aliyu.
"They say we have reported this thing with al Cardinal," he said.
South Sudan's government is investigating an alleged corruption scandal which includes the former finance minister and other high-level officials, and involves cars being bought at inflated prices from the al Cardinal company, many of which were never delivered.
Bol, asked to report to police in Khartoum by next week but otherwise free, said that a lack of legislation put all southern journalists in a dangerous position.
