The defendants had been detained in the capital N\u2019Djamena a week before a \u201cprotest and indignation march\u201c
\n N\u2019DJAMENA
\nEight Chadian opposition leaders arrested at the end of last month were jailed for eight years on Friday, their lawyer told AFP, the latest detentions of President Mahamat Idriss Deby\u2019s critics.
\nThe defendants, all members of the only political movement to have systematically challenged Deby\u2019s election, had been detained in the capital N\u2019Djamena a week before a \u201cprotest and indignation march\u201d that was banned by the government.
\nThey were taken into custody pending the outcome of a judicial investigation into \u201ccriminal association, rebellion and illegal possession of weapons of war.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are not surprised but are disappointed by the court\u2019s decision, which is based on non-existent offenses,\u201d said the defendants\u2019 lawyer, Moussa Adoum.
\nHe said they would be requesting the case be taken to the criminal court of appeal in N\u2019Djamena, \u201cso that the court can rule without political pressure.\u201d
\nSince coming to power following the death of his long-ruling father Idriss Deby Itno at the hands of rebels, Deby has overseen the jailing of many of his main rivals.
\nTop opposition leader Succes Masra, a former prime minister, was sentenced to 20 years for \u201cincitement to hatred\u201d in May 2025, following a trial Human Rights Watch denounced as politically motivated.
\nMasra\u2019s Transformers party had called for the eight opposition leaders\u2019 liberation in early May at a rally in support of their jailed leader, during which the security forces killed a protester.
\n– Supreme Court ban –
\nFriday\u2019s sentences come a day after the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of their GCAP movement, which brings together 13 political parties and civil society representatives.
\nThe GCAP was vocal in calling for a boycott of the ballot that saw Deby elected president in May 2024, three years after he took power on an interim basis after his father\u2019s death at the front.
\nIn mid-April, the movement launched a call on social media for Chadians to protest against \u201cinjustice, exclusion and for the re-establishment of our rights, our liberties and of justice.\u201d
\nAnd in October, the coalition slammed the \u201cclimate of terror\u201d caused by \u201cintimidation\u201d and \u201cthreats,\u201d on top of the authorities\u2019 bans on demonstrations and public meetings.
\nEarly in the same month, Chad\u2019s parliament passed a constitutional revision allowing the president unlimited seven-year terms by a landslide.
\nThe tinkering, which the opposition slammed as \u201cauthoritarian,\u201d could allow Deby to remain in power for life and surpass his slain father\u2019s 30-year-long rule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The defendants had been detained in the capital N\u2019Djamena a week before a \u201cprotest and indignation march\u201c N\u2019DJAMENA Eight Chadian opposition leaders arrested at the end of last month were jailed for eight years on Friday, their lawyer told AFP, the latest detentions of President Mahamat Idriss Deby\u2019s critics. The defendants, all members of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-545435","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n