What's behind the US's antagonism against South Africa?
South Africa has rejected a recent report by the United States on its human rights record. It's not the first time the country finds itself in the firing line of the US. What's behind it?
The sentencing of Chad's former Prime Minister Succes Masra to 20 years in prison is widely seen as a deliberate move by President Mahamat Idriss Deby to quieten opposition voices.
Masra, who briefly served in Deby's transitional government before returning to the opposition, was convicted of illegal possession of ammunition and incitement of violence linked to unrest in the southwestern Logone Occidental region in May this year, which resulted in the deaths of 42 people.
Masra has denied the charges and has vowed to appeal the decision, telling his supporters: "I'll be back soon."
Claudia Hoinathy, the vice president in charge of leadership and women's engagement within Masra's Les Transformateurs party, told DW that the conviction was completely unjust, having witnessed the three days of the hearings for herself.
In her view, it is merely an attempt for Deby to tighten his grip on power ahead of the next electoral cycle — even at the risk of triggering instability in an already precarious transition. The only way out, she believes, is a unified front:
"There are many opposition parties who have come to see us, to support us at our headquarters, who have sent out communications," Hoinathy said. "And I think that's the ultimate solution we have left, to unite.”
