Former Prime Minister of Chad and opposition leader, Succes Masra, has received a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of spreading messages that were deemed racist and xenophobic, which led to violence, according to his attorney.
A special criminal court in the capital city of N’djamena found Masra guilty of hate speech, promoting xenophobia, and inciting a massacre, according to Francis Kadjilembaye, one of his defence attorneys, on Saturday.
Masra refuted the allegations during the court proceedings.
His legal team contended that the prosecution did not provide substantial evidence linking Masra to the charges. In addition to the 20-year sentence, Masra has been ordered to pay a fine of $1.8 million, stated Kadjilembaye Francis, one of his legal representatives.
Masra is a vocal critic of President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who had briefly held the position of prime minister in Deby’s interim government for around five months before challenging him in a May 2024 election.
An investigation was initiated against him by Chad’s prosecutor in May following a violent clash that resulted in numerous fatalities in the southern town of Mandakao that month.
His attorney indicated that they intend to appeal the verdict.
He was tried alongside 74 other defendants accused of involvement in the massacre.
Masra, the head of Chad’s primary opposition party, Les Transformateurs (Transformers), was taken into custody on May 16 after inter-communal violence in Logone Occidental province claimed the lives of 42 individuals on May 14.
In July, he staged a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment, halting it after nearly a week due to a demonstration by women advocating for his release.
