Prominent Chadian journalist arrested, association says

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadian police have arrested the editor-in-chief of a major Chadian news website, a group of online media outlets said late on Wednesday, a week after the suspension of his website was lifted.

Badour Oumar Ali, editor of TchadInfos.com, was summoned by judicial police and taken away by "armed and hooded men" upon arrival in an unmarked vehicle to the national security agency, the Chad Online Media Association (AMET) said in a statement.

A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

TchadInfos.com, a leading private news outlet in the central African country, was suspended for several days in late July. It was reinstated on Aug. 1.

In a separate case that has also spurred concerns about freedom of speech and human rights under President Mahamat Idriss Deby, a priest known for his anti-government sermons in church was arrested on Monday in his parish.

Opposition leader Succes Masra referred to the priest's arrest as a "kidnapping." The priest, who had been close to the late opposition leader Yaya Dillo, was released on Tuesday.

Government spokesperson Abderaman Koulamallah said the priest's arrest followed an investigation over "recurring remarks" he had made "inciting division and endangering national cohesion".

The arrests have added to concerns about free speech under Deby, who seized power as interim leader on the death of his father in 2021 and was declared winner of a presidential election in May.

Masra, Deby's chief opponent, disputed the preliminary results. Dillo was shot and killed by security forces on Feb. 28, the day the election date was announced.

(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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