AFRICA/CHAD - Priest arrested: "The prosecutor has not yet commented"

N'Djamena (Agenzia Fides) - "We do not know where Father Madou is after his arrest yesterday. The prosecutor has not yet commented and therefore there is no formal charge against him," report local ecclesiastical sources in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, where yesterday, August 5, Father Simon-Pierre Madou Baïhana, parish priest of the church of Blessed Isidore Bakandja in Walia Goré, was arrested by security agents. According to a statement signed by the Archbishop of N'Djamena, Goetbé Edmond Djitangar, Father Madou was arrested "on August 5 at 6:33 p.m." The arrest took place without any warning, despite his state of health. Father Madou is ill and is being treated at the "Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta" health center. He was taken up by men wearing turbans who came in unidentified vehicles. The entrance door of the parish was forced open, with four shots fired at the locks."
"The manner of the arrest had initially suggested a kidnapping by bandits. Then the government announced in a statement that the priest had been taken into custody," the source told Fides. After rumors emerged about the alleged kidnapping of the priest, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and government spokesman Abderrahmane Koulamalah issued a statement in which he assured that "Father Madou was duly arrested by the law enforcement authorities and in strict compliance with judicial procedures." According to the government statement, the priest was arrested for "his repeated statements calling for the division of the country and endangering national cohesion." However, as the source reports to Fides, "more than 12 hours after the arrest, the prosecutor has not yet filed charges against the priest."
Msgr. Djitangar, meanwhile, calls on the faithful to remain calm and asks the "competent authorities to identify the authors and true instigators of this action." (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 6/8/2024)

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