Last week marked three months since Olivier Monodji, editor of Le Pays and a correspondent for Radio France Internationale, and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a reporter with state broadcaster Télé Tchad, were arrested in Chad. There are other co-accused in their case. Prosecutors alleged the journalists colluded with the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group present in Central Africa and the Sahel, and charged them with espionage, conspiracy, and endangering state security.
Part of the evidence in the case are documents that were allegedly translated from French to Arabic by Alhissein and an article by Monodji in Le Pays on the opening of a Russian cultural center.
The journalists appear to have been targeted for their perceived links to the Wagner Group, whose dealings in Chad are a sensitive topic. In 2023, media reported evidence of a plot by the mercenary group against the Chadian government. The group is actively supporting various armed groups in nearly all the surrounding countries, and Human Rights Watch has reported on how Russians thought to be from the Wagner Group have been instrumental in the authoritarian crackdown in the neighboring Central African Republic.
This week, a judge who has been investigating the case for two months reclassified the charges under article 95 of Chad’s Penal Code, which relates to sharing intelligence with agents of a foreign power and carries a sentence of one to five years’ imprisonment, and referred the accused for trial. Their detention was extended however, despite the dismissal of the more serious conspiracy and security charges. Their continued detention goes against international human rights law, which provides that defendants in general should not be held in pretrial detention, and underscores a disturbing trend toward repression.
In the run-up to the 2024 elections, authorities targeted media houses, civil society, and opposition voices. Authorities have revoked the licenses of media outlets, banned reporting on political rallies, shut down the internet, suspended media platforms, and made legal threats to silence dissent. Succès Masra, the former prime minister and leader of Chad’s main opposition party, has been detained for nearly one month. He is accused of inciting hatred and violence through social media posts.
Chad has been especially volatile since the death of former President Idriss Déby Itno, father of current President Mahamat Idriss Déby, in 2021, which ushered in a transitional period marked by violence, unrest, and bloodshed. Just months before the 2024 elections, a main political opponent was killed during an attack in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital.
However, none of this context justifies the prolonged detention of the journalists, which would require individualized evidence of necessity and lawful purpose. The Chadian government should uphold its commitment to due process by ensuring the men are released and guaranteed a fair trial.
