Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno accused the media “of being paid and supported by foreign powers to dirty the image” of the country, during a television interview on Tuesday, a month after the arrest of three journalists for collusion with Russia
President Déby urged certain media “to work while respecting the laws of the Republic and journalistic ethics” in an interview with Manara TV, a television channel created a year ago by Hassan Abdelkerim Bouyebri, director of communication for the presidency.
“We have media paid and supported by foreign powers to dirty the image of our country,” said Déby.
Since the beginning of March, three Chadian journalists accused of intelligence with Russia have been in pre -trial detention pending their hearing by an investigating judge.
Journalists are accused of having provided “information related to the country’s security and economy” and “for having worked with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner”, had told AFP the public prosecutor, Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye, evoking the existence of “documents” obtained following a “denunciation”.
Last week the request for release of one of them, Olivier Mbaindinguim Monodji, publication director of the weekly “Le Pays” and corresponding to Chad from Radio France Internationale (RFI) was refused by the investigating judge.
The regional director of the NGO Reporters Without Borders, Sadibou Marong, had reacted by calling on the Chadian authorities to cease any repression of the press and allow journalists to work without fear of reprisals.
In recent months, journalists, politicians and actors in civil society have undergone arrests, sometimes carried out as kidnappings by Chadian intelligence services, responsible for repressing any discordant voice to the Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno regime.
The Head of State also announced the “serious media accreditations card” to follow presidential activities. Until then the presidential press was sometimes the only authorized to cover the president’s activities.
Russia, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates are among the partners of this Sahel country, which obtained the total withdrawal of French troops at the end of January.
In mid-September, at the time of the inauguration of the Russian house in N’Djamena, three Russians, one of which is known for its links with the former boss of the Wagner group, Evguéni Prigojine, had been arrested when they arrived in Chad.
They then remained blocked for several weeks without any explanation of the Chadian authorities or the Russians.
