Chadian gov't called upon to investigate abuse of opponents

Human rights group, Amnesty International is asking Chadian authorities to investigate the mistreatment of persons who did not vote for the incumbent president, Idriss Deby.

Their call comes just as supporters and relatives of a Chadian opposition leader Mahamat Ahmat Lazina are also demanding answers concerning his whereabouts.

Lazina, who is the leader of the opposition National Movement for Change in Chad (MNCT), went missing early last week on his way to the party’s headquarters.

Members of his party, who mounted a search for him when he went missing, said they found his car outside a police station.

He is however said to have escaped from the police station where he was being held.

His relatives suspect his disappearance is linked to his political activities.

Annidjeme Mahamat, wife of the opposition leader, said she had neither seen nor heard from him since April 18 adding that his mobile phone is off.

Mahamat Lazina’s disappearance comes on the back of the disappearance of some soldiers who went missing after the April 10 presidential election.

Amnesty International and the Chadian League for Human Rights say the can confirm the disappearance of twenty soldiers and police.

The rights group in a statement said: “The Chadian authorities must come clean” and “open an independent investigation into the mistreatment of others who would not have voted for the party in power”.

A presidential candidate, Laokein Kourayo Medard, who came third in the April 10 election, told AFP on Wednesday that several members of his entourage have been arrested and tortured.

The Chadian opposition accused the government of an “electoral hold up” in the April 10 poll.