Attacks on the Press 2005: Chad
CHAD President Idriss Déby’s government jailed several journalists and closed a community radio station in an unprecedented assault on the media. Equally unprecedented was the response of journalists, who organized protests, a one-week newspaper strike, and a blackout of all radio news bulletins. The protests, together with international pressure, kept the spotlight on the imprisoned…
Of Hate and Genocide
During the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, media outlets linked to the Hutu-backed government helped lay the groundwork for the slaughter of Tutsis by routinely vilifying them. One radio station, Radio Television Libre de Mille Collines (RTLM), went so far as to identify targets for the Hutu militias that carried out most of the killing. In December 2003, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted three Rwandan media executives — two from RTLM and one from a newspaper called Kangura — for their role in the genocide.
Radio director freed but faces expulsion from country
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…
CHAD
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 voices concerns in meeting with Chad ambassador
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…
Three journalists freed; another ordered expelled
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…
CHAD
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…
Journalist granted provisional release; three others remain jailed
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…
CHAD
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…