The case is connected to that of Olivier Monodji, a correspondent for French international broadcaster RFI, who police have held in custody in the capital N’Djamena since Wednesday.
“Mahamat Saleh Alhissein, a journalist with the national television station, has been arrested along with his colleague Olivier,” a Tele Chad official told AFP.
The president of the Sahel country’s journalists’ union confirmed the fresh detention to AFP.
Contacted by AFP for comment, the public prosecutor said he would provide further information on the case on Monday.
Besides information on Russia’s proxy forces, the documents Alhissein stands accused of translating are said to contain information on the Sahel’s economic situation, Tele Chad told AFP.
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The reason for Monodji’s detention is said to be an article he wrote on the inauguration of the Russian House in N’Djamena last September, according to other sources.
His arrest drew swift condemnation from journalists’ unions.
In recent months, journalists, politicians and opposition figures have been arrested or kidnapped in a bid to suppress voices critical of military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.
At least three journalists have been arbitrarily detained in the country since August 2024, according to the Chad Online Media Association.
In mid-September, the World Organization Against Torture denounced the Chadian intelligence service’s increasing use of arrests and detentions without due process.
After coming to power following the death of his father three years ago, Deby has strengthened his hold on Chad in a series of elections denounced by the opposition as neither free nor fair.
Like other military leaders in the Sahel, he has moved the country away from former colonial ruler France and instead forged ties with Russia, which has been expanding its influence in Africa.
Moscow has sent mercenaries from the Wagner group to several countries in the jihadist-beset region, including Mali and the Central African Republic bordering Chad.
