The Chad Online Media Association (AMET) reported that Badour Oumar Ali, editor of TchadInfos.com, was taken by “armed and hooded men” in an unmarked vehicle to the national security agency after being summoned by judicial police.
The government representative did not immediately comment on the situation. TchadInfos.com, a major private news outlet in Chad, had been suspended for several days in late July but was reinstated on August 1.
In another incident raising concerns about freedom of speech and human rights under President Mahamat Idriss Deby, a Priest known for his anti-government speeches was arrested in his parish on Monday.
Succes Masra, the opposition leader, described the priest’s arrest as a “kidnapping”. The priest, who had ties to the late opposition leader Yaya Dillo, was discharged on Tuesday.
Government representative Abderaman Koulamallah stated that the arrest was part of an investigation into the priest’s “recurring remarks” that allegedly “incited division and threatened national cohesion”.
Concerns about free speech have intensified following these arrests under President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who took power as interim leader after his father’s death in 2021 and was proclaimed the winner of a presidential election in May.
Deby’s main rival, Masra, challenged the initial election results. Dillo was fatally shot by security forces on February 28, the day the election date was announced.