Journalists cautiously optimistic after court orders reporters freed

A Chadian court has released four journalists whose arrests were roundly condemned by national and international media groups as a bid to stifle the press. The journalists -- three men and one woman -- were detained in July and August on various allegations including libel and inciting tribal hatred, but on Monday the appeals court in the capital, N'djamena ruled their convictions illegal. Leonard Vincent, the Africa director of the international media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) said the release of the four sounded a new approach from the government. “The government appears to understand that this kind of crackdown on the press is counterproductive,” he said. Vincent was part of an RSF team that has been in Chad for a week to discuss press freedoms with President Idriss Deby and other officials. However, Chadian journalists and media groups were more cautious on Tuesday, saying it remained to be seen whether the move was a step towards greater openness in this fragile democracy, with its history of coups and conflict. “I greet their liberation with much joy but at the same time some scepticism,” Nadjikimo Benoudjita, head of the Chadian Association of Private Editors said from the capital. “It’s not clear that we journalists are out of danger of being pursued by the government for our work. I hope so, but I have my doubts.” Speaking to IRIN after returning home following 42 days in prison, Koumbo Singa Gali Sy, editorial director of L’Observateur weekly newspaper, asked: “Is our liberation a sign of a new openness? I don’t know. That remains to be seen.” She said the situation of Chad’s press reflected the country’s political climate - one of “total obstruction.” “The press cannot fulfil its role in society if there is no political dialogue,” she added. Sy, Samory Ngaradoumbe also of L’Observateur, freelance journalist Garonde Djarma and Michael Didama of weekly Le Temps had originally been handed sentences ranging from three months to four years.