Eight opponents of Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby, arrested at the end of April, were sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday in N'Djamena, one of their lawyers told AFP.

The defendants, all presidents of parties belonging to the Groupe de concertation des acteurs politiques (GCAP), the main opposition coalition, had been arrested a week before a "protest and indignation march", which they had called for participation in and which was banned by the government.

They were subsequently placed in pre-trial detention as part of a judicial investigation for "criminal association, insurrectionary movement, rebellion and illegal possession of weapons of war".

"We are not surprised but disappointed by this court decision which was based on non-existent offenses," reacted Moussa Adoum, lawyer for the opposition, regretting "that justice can be used as an instrument of political pressure."

He said he wanted to appeal the ruling "so that the court can decide without political pressure".

- Dissolution of the GCAP -

The day before the arrest of the eight party leaders, the Minister of Security had announced the dissolution of the GCAP by a Supreme Court ruling, demanding that the members of the coalition "immediately cease this maneuver, which constitutes a disturbance of public order," in reference to the demonstration they were organizing.

Mahamat Idriss Déby was elected president of Chad in May 2024, in a contested election boycotted by a large part of the opposition, after having led a transition for three years following the death of his father Idriss Déby Itno, killed by rebels on his way to the front after 30 years at the head of the country.

The GCAP, which brings together 13 political parties and representatives of civil society, is the only platform to have systematically contested the elections and called for a boycott.

In a statement published in mid-April on social media, the GCAP called on Chadians to demonstrate against "injustice, exclusion and for the restoration of our rights, our freedoms and justice".

The Transformers party, one of the main opposition parties in Chad, had called for the release of the eight opposition members in early May during a rally in support of their president, who had been imprisoned for almost a year, during which an activist was killed by the security forces.

- "Climate of terror" -

In May 2025, Succès Masra, former Prime Minister and president of the Transformers, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for "incitement to hatred and violence" in a "politically motivated" trial, according to the human rights NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In October, the coalition was already denouncing a "climate of terror", "intimidation" and "threats", fueled by bans on gatherings taken by the authorities.

HRW also pointed to the repression of opponents and civil society, which had become "commonplace".

In early October, a constitutional revision establishing a seven-year presidential term, renewable without limit, was passed by an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

This reform, described as "authoritarian" by the opposition, could allow President Déby to remain in power indefinitely.

AFP