Chad's President Pardons Rebels Sentenced to Life in Prison

According to Radio France Internationale, a group of 380 rebels handed life sentences over the 2021 death of former ruler Idriss Deby Itno have been pardoned following a statement from the president's office said.

Previously, more than 400 rebels accused of killing Chad's former president Idriss Déby Itno, 69, on April 20, 2021 - days after he was re-elected for a sixth term as president - were sentenced to life in prison, Esther Rose wrote for AllAfrica. The rebels were convicted of terrorism, using child soldiers and undermining Chad's integrity and security, an appeals court ruled in a closed hearing on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

The trial had opened in February 2023 behind closed doors at Klessoum prison, 20 kilometres southeast of the capital N'djamena. However, a statement from the office of transitional president, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, one of the former ruler's sons, said 380 had received a presidential pardon.

Idriss Déby Itno was a long-serving military officer and president of Chad from 1990 until his death. He was also a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group, which occupies the majority of posts in the transitional military council. Leadership of the council was seized by Déby's adopted son Mahamat Idriss Déby, who is also of the Zaghawa ethnic group.