N'djamena - An appeals court in Chad has released three journalists who were jailed in a recent crackdown on the independent press, days after President Idriss Deby promised an international media watchdog group that he would look into their case.
The court cited procedural irregularities on Monday as it overturned the convictions of Garonde Djarma, Michael Didama, and Sy Koumbo Singa Gali, who were sentenced in July and August to prison terms ranging from six months to three years.
The court, however, upheld Didama's conviction on charges of "inciting hatred" and "defaming the president", but sentenced him to the month and a half of prison time he had already served, according to the New York Committee to Protect Journalists.
Didama plans to seek a further appeal of the conviction, according to the group that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.
The court also overturned the conviction of Ngaradoumbe Samory, a fourth journalist targeted in the crackdown on the media, again citing procedural irregularities.
He was sentenced to three months in jail on July 18, but was granted a provisional release on September 8 pending a decision in his appeal.
"I feel a mixture of relief and anger... since the appeals court verdict has shown that these were arbitrary detentions," Evariste Tolde, head of the Union of Chadian Journalists, said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists "welcomes the release of our colleagues, but clearly much work remains to be done to protect the rights of journalists in Chad," Executive Director Ann Cooper said.
The journalists "should not have been jailed in the first place".
Meanwhile, authorities arrested community radio station director Tchanguis Vatankah in southern Chad on Sunday, and planned to expel him from the country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, citing local sources.
Vatankah, an Iranian, is founder and director of Radio Brakos, a station in the remote southern town of Moissala that is known for its critical reporting.
Security and Immigration Minister Routouang Yoma Golom ordered the arrest. While Vatankah is married to a Chadian woman and has lived in Chad for several decades, he does not have Chadian citizenship and his legal status is unclear, the Committee to Protect Journalist said, citing local sources.
In May, Chad's High Council of Communication, an official media regulatory body, suspended Radio Brakos, citing "recurring conflicts between Radio Brakos and administrative and military authorities".
In August, the HCC lifted the ban, but demanded that Vatankah no longer serve as the station's director.
In 2004, Vatankah was detained and badly beaten on the orders of a local government official after the journalist interviewed an opposition leader on the air.
He still suffers from medical problems related to the assault. Vatankah has also received threats from local military officials and traditional leaders, the group said. - Sapa-AP