Chad seeks a 25-year prison term for opposition leader accused of inciting violence

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N'DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Chad 's prosecutor general Friday requested a 25-year prison sentence for Succès Masra, the country's former prime minister and opposition leader accused of inciting racial violence and other charges.

Masra and dozens of co-defendants, mostly people from the same Ngambaye ethnic group, are on trial accused of causing a clash between herders and farmers in May in Logone Occidental in the southwest of the country. The fighting left 35 people dead and six others injured.

Masra has denied the charges against him.

“We believe that ... the criminal court will be able to draw the consequences of all the statements that have been made against the client and will render the justice that we hope to be rendered on behalf of the Chadian people,” Kadjilembay Francis, Masra's lawyer, told reporters after the proceedings.

In addition to the prison term, the prosecutor also requested the freezing of their assets and the payment of 5 billion West African Francs ($8.9 million) to the state as compensation. Nine other defendants are recommended for release on the grounds of a lack of evidence.

Masra, who was prime minister between January and May last year, is the head of the Les Transformateurs party and has been a sharp critic of Mahamat Déby, Chad's current president.

Déby took power in 2021 after his father Idriss Déby Itno was killed while fighting rebels in the country's north. He had ruled the country for 30 years.

Déby legitimized his presidency with an election earlier this year, which was opposed by Masra and his party.