They were sentenced on 2 December 2022 to serve between one and three years in prison.
A presidential pardon has been granted to those convicted in connection with the events of 20 October 2022. Transitional President Mahamat Idriss Déby signed the decree on 27 March. 259 people will benefit from this measure. The National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH) had previously called on the President to pardon these prisoners, as he had done for former combatants of the Chadian Front for Change and Concord (FACT).
The accused were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to three years. They were found guilty of unlawful assembly, destruction of property, arson, violence and bodily harm, disturbance of the peace and assault and battery.
On 20 October 2022, these people went out to demonstrate against the extension of the transition by two years, at the call of political parties such as the Transformers and the civic platform Wakit Tama. The repression of these demonstrations resulted in 70 deaths according to the government and 128 according to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH).
Following these events, 621 alleged demonstrators were arrested. Among them were 80 minors. The N’Djamena High Court delivered its verdict during a public hearing in Korotoro prison on 2 December.
Fifty-nine (59) people were acquitted of unproven offences. 80 were given suspended sentences and 265 were sentenced to between one and three years’ imprisonment. The remaining 137 cases are under investigation. The conditional sentences were released on 11 December 2002.
CA/ac/lb/abj/APA