(New York) – The Chadian authorities should vacate or set aside the conviction of Succès Masra, the former Chadian prime minister and main opposition leader, Human Rights Watch said today. Masra was released from prison on August 15, 2026, after receiving a presidential pardon.
His pardon and those of eight other political opponents led to their release from prison. However, their convictions for conduct that was legitimate political expression still stand and need to be set aside so they can continue to participate in politics.
“The release of Masra and other political opponents is good news,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But to be clear, Masra was arrested on trumped-up charges in an attempt to silence him. The Chadian authorities should go beyond the presidential pardon and ensure that his conviction is set aside.”
Masra, who served as Chad’s prime minister from January to May 2024, was arrested on May 16, 2025, after running against then-transitional President Mahamat Idriss Déby in the 2024 presidential election. Prosecutors accused him of inciting hatred and violence following the deaths of 42 people in intercommunal clashes on May 14 in Mandakao, Logone Occidental province, in the country’s southwest.
While clashes between herders and farmers are common in southern Chad, intercommunal violence has become more acute over the past several years, resulting in scores of deaths. Masra was charged with inciting hatred and violence through social media posts. Following the Logone Occidental violence, Masra had expressed condolences to the victims, stating that “no Chadian’s life should be taken for granted.”
Masra, who pleaded not guilty, was tried alongside 74 co-defendants, all accused of collaboration in the deaths at Mandakao. While at least 9 of the defendants were released at trial, the remainder received 20-year prison sentences. The 65 co-defendants convicted alongside Masra are still in prison and should also be released, and their convictions should be set aside, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch was told that some of the co-defendants may have died in detention but was unable to confirm this information.
Eight leaders from Chad’s main opposition coalition, the Political Actors’ Consultation Group, known by its French acronym GCAP, were pardoned at the same time as Masra. The GCAP leaders were serving eight-year prison sentences following their convictions on charges of rebellion for planning a protest march. Two of the eight GCAP leaders had earlier been released on health grounds. The Supreme Court dissolved the GCAP in April 2026, alleging that it was involved in illegal activity.
Masra had appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, but the court upheld his conviction and 20-year sentence in May. While the presidential pardons granted to Masra and the GCAP leaders led to their release, their convictions and financial penalties remain intact.
Masra and his co-defendants still have an outstanding fine to the total of 1 billion Central African francs (approximately US$1.8 million), imposed at the same time as their prison sentences. The standing conviction also means he retains his criminal record and leaves him ineligible to run for office. The convictions should therefore be set aside or revised in accordance with Chadian law, Human Rights Watch said.
Masra’s case was significant. He and his supporters from the opposition party Les Transformateurs (The Transformers) faced threats prior to the May 2024 elections, in which Masra ran against then-transitional President Gen. Mahamat Idriss Déby. After Déby was declared the winner, his presidency ended a transitional period that started in 2021, following the death of his father, then-President Idriss Déby Itno, who was killed while fighting an armed group a day after being re-elected to his sixth term.
A government crackdown on freedom of expression and association has at times been very violent. After Idriss Déby Itno’s death, security forces used excessive force, including live ammunition fired indiscriminately, to disperse opposition-led demonstrations across the country. Several protesters were killed. Authorities detained activists and opposition party members, and security forces beat journalists covering the protests.
On October 20, 2022, security forces fired live ammunition at protesters—killing and injuring scores of demonstrators—and beat and chased people into their homes. Hundreds of men and boys were arrested, and many were taken to Koro Toro, a high security prison 600 kilometers away from N’Djamena. Several detainees died en route, some due to lack of water. At Koro Toro, protesters suffered further abuse, including severe ill-treatment by other detainees.
In October 2023, dozens of members of Les Transformateurs were arrested in the lead up to a constitutional referendum to allow Mahamat Déby to run as a candidate after the transition.
While the presidential pardon decree presented the releases of Masra and the eight GCAP leaders as a gesture toward national unity and reconciliation, the authorities have shown intolerance of debate or dissent, including open discussions about Chad’s past. While the leaders have been pardoned, their arrests formed part of a broader government crackdown against perceived critics and opponents, Human Rights Watch said.
“The charges against Masra lacked credibility and any evidential basis, and he should never have been arrested and detained in the first place,” Mudge said. “The Chadian authorities should bring this matter to a close, vacate his conviction, and let him exercise his rights and re-engage in politics.”