Chad’s detained opposition leader announces hunger strike

KIGALI, Rwanda

Chad’s opposition leader Succes Masra announced a hunger strike Tuesday to protest his detention.

Masra, the leader of Chad’s main opposition party Les Transformateurs (The Transformers) and a former prime minister, was arrested in the capital N’Djamena on May 16 following inter-communal violence in Logone Occidental province that killed 42 people on May 14.

He is accused of multiple charges including inciting hatred and violence through social media posts, complicity with armed gangs and complicity in murder.

“Starting this evening (Tuesday), in solidarity with all of you and in protest at undeserved injustices, I shall begin a hunger strike,” Masra said in a letter to his supporters shared by his party.

He said that since his arrest 40 days ago, he, like his supporters, has been searching for the reason for his detention.

He ran in the May 2024 presidential election, which was won by then-transitional president Mahamat Idriss Deby.

Last month, Human Rights Watch called for the immediate release of Masra “if he is not charged with a valid offense.”