Chad jails hundreds in mass trial over deadly protests

A court during a mass trial in Koro Toro prison in Chad has handed out jail terms of between two and three years to more than 260 people out of a total of 401 arrested over anti-government protests in October, while defense lawyers have argued that the trial was “illegal”.

A total of 401 people were put on mass trial in Koro Toro prison, a high-security jail located in the desert 600km from the capital N’Djamena last week. Public prosecutor Moussa Wade Djibrine told the media that 262 people were given jail sentences, 80 were given suspended terms and 59 were acquitted. The trial ended on Friday (2 December) after four days, with only state TV having the right to provide coverage, and the sentences were announced on Monday after the prosecutor returned to the capital. The defendants were charged with taking part in an unauthorized gathering, destroying belongings, arson and disturbing public order.

Opposition groups dispute the official death toll of 50 protestors killed in N’Djamena and several other cities on 20 October, saying it was much higher, and allege unarmed civilians were subject to a mass killing. Local and international NGOs, the European Union and the African Union condemned the bloody crackdown and the use of violence against civilians. Chadian lawyers boycotted the proceedings on the grounds of the “illegal” transfer far from the public gaze for the trial. Many stopped working during and after the trial, with the Chad Bar Association calling it a “parody of justice” as the defendants were “kidnapped” and “deported” to Koro Toro. The bar said it would appeal the court’s decision.