An RFI correspondent and a national TV journalist have been detained in Chad in a move condemned by press freedom advocates as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.
Campaign posters showing Chad's presidential candidates in N'Djamena on 2 May, 2024. © ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP
By:RFI
Issued on: 10/03/2025 -
Following a further interrogation at the offices of the criminal investigation department on Saturday, journalist Olivier Monodji's custody has been extended until at least this Monday, when he will be brought before the public prosecutor of N'djamena.
Monodji, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale and publication director of the newspaper Le Pays, has been detained in the Chadian capital, since Wednesday, 5 March.
His lawyer, Allatha Amos, has slammed the arrest as baseless, stating: “The criminal investigation police were unable to tell us what offence my client is accused of. We are therefore waiting impatiently for Monday to find out. It is really absurd that journalists are still being arrested in the 21st century: it is truly from another age!”
Alongside Monodji, Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a journalist with the national television station Tele Chad, was also arrested.
Russian translation
The exact reasons for Monodji’s detention remain unclear, but sources indicated to French news agency AFP that it may be linked to an article he wrote in September 2023 about the inauguration of the Russian House in N'Djamena.
Alhissein, on the other hand, is accused of translating documents containing information on Russia's proxy forces and the Sahel’s economic situation, according to Tele Chad.
The Union of Chadian Journalists (UJT) has denounced the detentions as arbitrary, labelling them a “serious attack on the freedom of the press” and calling for the unconditional release of both journalists as well as the return of Monodji’s work equipment.
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Issued on: 10/03/2025 -
Following a further interrogation at the offices of the criminal investigation department on Saturday, journalist Olivier Monodji's custody has been extended until at least this Monday, when he will be brought before the public prosecutor of N'djamena.
Monodji, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale and publication director of the newspaper Le Pays, has been detained in the Chadian capital, since Wednesday, 5 March.
His lawyer, Allatha Amos, has slammed the arrest as baseless, stating: “The criminal investigation police were unable to tell us what offence my client is accused of. We are therefore waiting impatiently for Monday to find out. It is really absurd that journalists are still being arrested in the 21st century: it is truly from another age!”
Alongside Monodji, Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a journalist with the national television station Tele Chad, was also arrested.
Russian translation
The exact reasons for Monodji’s detention remain unclear, but sources indicated to French news agency AFP that it may be linked to an article he wrote in September 2023 about the inauguration of the Russian House in N'Djamena.
Alhissein, on the other hand, is accused of translating documents containing information on Russia's proxy forces and the Sahel’s economic situation, according to Tele Chad.
The Union of Chadian Journalists (UJT) has denounced the detentions as arbitrary, labelling them a “serious attack on the freedom of the press” and calling for the unconditional release of both journalists as well as the return of Monodji’s work equipment.
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'Broader crackdown'
Monodji was reportedly interrogated for four hours on Saturday, by three criminal investigation officers, after which his custody was extended.
His lawyer has criticised this extension, emphasising that Monodji presents sufficient guarantees of representation.
“From now on, [the public prosecutor] alone can explain why he is being held at the premises of the criminal investigation department,” Amos stated.
The recent arrests of journalists in Chad have sparked widespread condemnation from press freedom advocates, who say they fit into a broader crackdown on opposition figures in Chad, as military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby tightens his grip on power.
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Since August 2024, at least three journalists have been arbitrarily detained, according to the Chad Online Media Association.
In September 2024, the World Organisation Against Torture condemned the Chadian intelligence service for increasingly using arrests and detentions without due process.
Deby, who took power after his father’s death three years ago, has distanced Chad from its former colonial ruler, France, and fostered stronger ties with Russia.
Moscow has expanded its influence in Africa through mercenary groups like Wagner, which operate in neighbouring Mali and the Central African Republic.
Monodji was reportedly interrogated for four hours on Saturday, by three criminal investigation officers, after which his custody was extended.
His lawyer has criticised this extension, emphasising that Monodji presents sufficient guarantees of representation.
“From now on, [the public prosecutor] alone can explain why he is being held at the premises of the criminal investigation department,” Amos stated.
The recent arrests of journalists in Chad have sparked widespread condemnation from press freedom advocates, who say they fit into a broader crackdown on opposition figures in Chad, as military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby tightens his grip on power.
France launches embezzlement inquiry into Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Déby
Since August 2024, at least three journalists have been arbitrarily detained, according to the Chad Online Media Association.
In September 2024, the World Organisation Against Torture condemned the Chadian intelligence service for increasingly using arrests and detentions without due process.
Deby, who took power after his father’s death three years ago, has distanced Chad from its former colonial ruler, France, and fostered stronger ties with Russia.
Moscow has expanded its influence in Africa through mercenary groups like Wagner, which operate in neighbouring Mali and the Central African Republic.
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