This content was published on December 5, 2022 – 5:23 p.m. December 5, 2022 – 5:23 p.m
N’Djamena, 5 December (EFE).- The Chadian judiciary has sentenced 262 young people to prison terms of between two and three years for taking part in violent protests against the transitional government last October, in which officials say they took part At least 50 people died, the prosecutor reported on Monday.
“The court, exercising its sovereignty, has taken the following decisions: 262 defendants were sentenced to prison terms of between two and three years; 80 defendants were sentenced to suspended sentences of between 12 and 24 months,” said prosecutor Moussa Wade Djibrine at a press conference in the capital N’Djamena.
Djibrine stated that 59 accused were found not guilty and released “in case of doubt” and that the 80 accused minors were transferred from Koro Toro prison to N’Djamena for further treatment.
A total of 401 of the 621 detainees appeared before N’Djamena Magistrates’ Court on charges of “unarmed assembly and rebellion” in hearings held between November 29 and December 2 from Koro Toro, a maximum security prison more than 500 kilometers north of N’Djamena capital and in the middle of the Sahara, where the accused were staying.
Lawyer Frédéric Dainoné, president of the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights of the Chad Bar Association, told EFE on Monday that the defendants did not seek the assistance of lawyers either during the trial or during the hearings.
“Because these convicts have not benefited from defense support, it continues to be a sham to us. What has been done is a violation of the law,” Dainoné told EFE.
“We will appeal and ask the Court of Appeal to set aside all these judgments that have been passed in violation of the procedural rules but also in violation of the substantive rules of a fair trial,” he added.
The 220 remaining detainees are charged with more serious charges such as “voluntarily beating and fatally wounding the law enforcement officers”.
According to official figures, the October 20 protests left at least 50 dead, almost 300 injured and 621 arrested; while the opposition speaks of more than 200 dead, 300 injured and around 1,200 arrested.
The demonstrations took place on the day when the political transition that began in this country after the death of President Idriss Déby, who had ruled since 1990, was due to end in April 2021 with fighting between rebel groups and the army.
The protests took place in various cities across the country despite being banned by the authorities the day before, and the army and gendarmerie responded with live ammunition and tear gas.
Since the death of Idriss Déby, the country has been ruled by his 38-year-old son, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who, after taking power, annulled the constitution and dissolved the government and parliament.
Chad held a national dialogue between August and October to agree on the basis for a return to constitutional order, which was widely criticized and boycotted by opposition and rebel groups.
It was agreed that the transition would be extended by two more years from October 20 and that Déby Itno would be sworn in as interim president.
In his inaugural speech on October 10, Déby Itno announced the formation of a “government of national unity” and promised a constitutional referendum and elections for “a return to constitutional order” after the transition was complete. EFE
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