CHAD WATCH
ON 17 September, Chad stripped two exiled critics, Makaila Nguebla, President Mahamat Idriss Déby’s former human rights adviser, and Charfadine Galmaye Saleh, an online media editor, of their nationality. This may sound trivial, but citizenship isn’t just a passport: it’s the recognition that guarantees fundamental rights and the right to be heard.
Most countries – including Chad – have signed international conventions agreeing not to remove a person’s sole citizenship. Chad isn’t the first to ignore this: the UK stripped Isis recruit Shamima Begum of her only nationality. But in the case of Chad there’s no suggestion the reason is national security; it simply serves the interests of one man’s progress from saviour to dictator.