Chad

New York, November 30, 2005—Chadian authorities freed community radio director Tchanguis Vatankah on Tuesday after improperly holding the journalist in detention for more than two months. Vatankah, whose station is known for critical reporting and commentary, still faces a government expulsion order and has been ordered not to speak to the press, according to Evariste Toldé, head of the Union of Chadian Journalists.

JULY 18, 2005
Updated: October 17, 2005

Garondé Djarma, freelance
IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION

Djarma, a freelance journalist and commentator who contributes frequently to local publications, was sentenced to three years in prison and one million CFA francs (about U.S. $1,764) in fines for defaming the president and "inciting hatred."

CPJ Update October 17, 2005 News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

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Washington, October 3, 2005—After meeting today with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists, a top Chadian diplomat promised to convey concerns over press freedom violations in Chad to his country's president, Idriss Déby.

In a session with Mahamoud Adam Bechir, Chad's ambassador to the United States, CPJ representatives called on Chadian authorities to repeal the criminal charge of "defaming the president," which was used to jail several journalists in recent weeks. Delegation members said the charge inhibits free expression and prevents journalists from holding the government accountable.

New York, September 26, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of three jailed journalists today in Chad. Garondé Djarma, Michaël Didama, and Sy Koumbo Singa Gali had been sentenced in July and August to prison terms ranging from six months to three years on charges related to their work.

An appeals court in the capital, N'Djamena, today overturned the convictions of Djarma and Sy, based on procedural irregularities, local sources said. The court upheld Didama's conviction on charges of "inciting hatred" and "defaming the president," but sentenced him to the month and a half of prison time he had already served. Didama told CPJ he would seek a further appeal of the conviction.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2005
Posted October 13, 2005

Tchanguis Vatankah, Radio Brakos
IMPRISONED

Chadian authorities arrested community radio station director Tchanguis Vatankah in southern Chad and announced they would expel him from the country, according to local sources. A native of Iran who had been living in Chad for several decades, Vatankah is the founder and director of Radio Brakos, a station in the remote southern town of Moissala that is known for its critical reporting.

New York, September 8, 2005—Ngaradoumbé Samory, one of four Chadian journalists jailed since July in connection with their work, was granted a provisional release from prison today pending a decision on his appeal. As editor of the private weekly L'Observateur, Samory was sentenced to three months in prison on July 18 for allegedly defaming the president and "inciting hatred" in an open letter published in his newspaper.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
Posted September 8, 2005

Laïssou Bagamala, freelance
IMPRISONED

Authorities in the capital N'Djamena jailed Bagamala, a former journalist for the private weekly L'Observateur, for three days in connection with an article published in the newspaper about a local property dispute, according to CPJ sources. Bagamala was accused of defamation but it is unclear if he was charged. Local journalists described his detention as riddled with procedural errors.

New York, September 1, 2005—Journalist Michaël Didama, speaking from his prison cell in the Chadian capital N'Djamena, today denounced his detention as illegal and called on local and international journalists to keep up pressure for the release of all four reporters jailed by the government since July.

"This is a crackdown on the press. There is nothing legal about our arrests," Didama told
the Committee to Protect Journalists in a telephone interview. Didama has been in the capital's overcrowded Central Prison since August 8. He was sentenced to six months in jail after his newspaper in May, 2005, covered rebel groups and an alleged massacre of civilians in eastern Chad.

New York, August 24, 2005—Chad lifted a ban on Tuesday on Radio Brakos which was taken off air three months ago for reports critical of government and military officials, station director Tchanguis Vatankah told CPJ. He said the station would resume broadcasting in the remote southern town of Moissala shortly but would join this week’s protest by private media against the jailing of four journalists in Chad.