Chad: 262 were sentenced to prison terms following the protests.
In Chad, the trials of the demonstrators took place in mobile courts held from 29 November to 2 December in Koro Toro, a high-security prison located more than 500 kilometres away in the middle of the desert in the north, to which the defendants were deported.
The defence, which boycotted the trial, intends to appeal.
A total of 401 defendants out of 621 appeared before the High Court of N’Djamena, relocated to Koro Toro. 262 were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to three years. According to Moussa Wade Djibrine, the Prosecutor of the Republic at the High Court of N’Djamena, the verdict was rendered by the judges in their sovereignty:
The Court in its sovereignty made the following decisions: 262 defendants sentenced to prison terms ranging from 2 to 3 years; 80 defendants sentenced to suspended sentences ranging from 12 to 24 months, 59 defendants are declared not guilty and released for the benefit of the doubt. Furthermore, we would like to inform you that the 80 minors prosecuted before the juvenile court judge were brought back from the Koro Toro prison to N’Djamena for further processing.
These defendants did not benefit from the assistance of lawyers during the trial, nor during the hearings. « This is a non-right », denounce the lawyers who intend to appeal for the annulment of these convictions from Tuesday.
Frédéric Dainoné is the president of the human rights commission of the Chad Bar Association. He said: « For us, it is still a farce. It is a breach of the law, what has been done. We are going to appeal and ask the Court of Appeal to annul all these convictions which were pronounced in violation of the rules of procedure but also in violation of the substantive rules of a fair trial.
Alladoumadji, Mbairamadji’s older brother, a defendant who also appeared in court, said he was flabbergasted: ‘Was there even a trial there? I don’t think so. It’s all nonsense. They have to release these children. It’s shameful. »
So far, no list of the released or convicted defendants has been made public. Nor do parents know when those who have been given suspended sentences or released will be brought back to N’Djamena.
The mass trial took place in the prison of Koro Toro, more than 500 km northeast of the capital, an « illegal » procedure according to the lawyers who decided not to go there.
Observers had denounced on Friday « a trial behind closed doors which raises serious concerns about respect for the right to a fair trial ».
