Nine Chadian opposition leaders arrested and detained
via SeneNews4 min read
Nine leaders of the Group of Consultation of Political Actors GCAP, a major opposition platform to President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno's regime, were arrested on Saturday and remain in police custody. Hissein Abdoulaye, GCAP spokesperson, confirmed the arrests, which were also corroborated by a judicial police source. The GCAP, comprising 13 political parties and civil society representatives, has consistently challenged elections and advocated for boycotts. These arrests precede a "protest and indignation march" called by GCAP for May 2, which the Minister of Public Security and Immigration has prohibited. The arrests follow a constitutional revision in early October, approved by Parliament, establishing a seven-year, unlimitedly renewable presidential term. This revision, deemed "authoritarian" by the opposition, potentially allows President Mahamat Idriss Déby to remain in power indefinitely. The Minister of Security announced the dissolution of GCAP by a Supreme Court ruling, urging its members to cease activities that could disturb public order. The Transformers party condemned the arrests, drawing parallels to the "arbitrary arrest" of its president, Succès Masra, in May 2015. Masra, a former Prime Minister, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for "incitement to hatred and violence" in a trial Human Rights Watch described as "politically motivated."
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by SeneNews.
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