Four Chadian journalists, three of whom had been imprisoned since March, were found not guilty on Tuesday by the N’Djamena high court.
They faced charges of “conspiring” with Russia’s Wagner Group. The public prosecutor had sought two-year prison sentences for the four defendants last Wednesday.
They were suspected of providing “information relating to the country’s security and economy” and “having worked with the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.”
Public prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye cited “incriminating documents” obtained after a “denunciation.”
Alain Ndilyam, spokesman for the defense lawyers, expressed delight at the verdict. “We are delighted that our clients have regained their freedom,” he told AFP.
Ndilyam highlighted that some of the journalists had been “unjustly detained in the prison for more than four months, despite their status as journalists.” Among the accused were Olivier Monodji, director of the local weekly Le Pays and a correspondent for Radio France Internationale.
Ndilyam Guekidata, another editor at Le Pays; and Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a reporter at Tele Chad. These three were arrested and jailed in March.
Ahmat Ali Adji from Toumai Web Media was later accused but was not detained.
