Full Text: Press Statement
Olivier Monodji, editor of weekly publication Le Pays and correspondent of Radio France International (RFI) in Chad, was arrested on 5 March, and his detention extended until 10 March. A second journalist, Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, working for the national broadcaster Tele Chad, was arrested, the journalist’s employer told AFP on 9 March.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, L’Union des Journalistes Tchadiens (UJT), in condemning the latest arbitrary detentions, which constitute a violation of their fundamental human rights.
Monodji was at the offices of the weekly publication Le Pays, when police turned up and said they had an arrest warrant issued by the Public Prosecutor at the N’Djamena High Court, RFI reported. The police extended the journalist’s detention until 10 March, when he will be brought before the Public Prosecutor of N’Djamena, said the journalist’s employer. RFI sources said that his arrest might be linked to an article that he wrote in September 2023 “about the inauguration of the Russian House in N’ Djamena”.
The journalist’s lawyer, Allatha Amos, slammed the arrest as baseless. “The police were unable to tell us what offence my client is accused of. It is really absurd that journalists are still being arrested in the 21st Century.”
According to a statement issued by the IFJ-affiliate, UJT, since the journalist’s arrest on 5 March, no charges have been brought against him, in a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of law and judicial order. “His computer has been confiscated by the judicial police and he has not yet been brought before a prosecutor to be heard within the legal timeframe,” reads the UJT statement.
The union denounced in the strongest terms this arbitrary arrest and the absence of any legal justification for the prolonged detention of our colleague. “We demand for his immediate and unconditional release, as well as the return of his work equipment […] We call on the judicial authorities to consider the consequences of such practices, which only serve to weaken Chad’s image in terms of respect for fundamental freedoms and democratic standards”.
A second journalist, Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, who works for the national broadcaster Tele Tchad, was also arrested “accused of translating Russian files containing information on Russia’s proxy forces and the Sahel’s economic situation”,” his employer told AFP on 9 March.
IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “Journalist Olivier Monodji has been detained for five days without being charged, which is a fundamental violation of his constitutional rights. Such tactics that are directed at suppressing the media are inhumane and unjustified, a clear disregard of the rule of law. Journalists must be allowed to do their work without fear or favour”.
The IFJ joins its affiliate UJT in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of journalists Olivier Monodji and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein. The authorities in Chad must end the continued harassment of journalists in the country and do more in guaranteeing freedom of expression and media freedom.
Source IFJ