Abakar Manany, a former Chad minister, has denied any involvement in the recent four-day suspension of Tchadinfos.com, the country’s largest online news platform. The denial was confirmed by Manany’s lawyer, Jean-Marc Fedida, in a statement to AFP on Wednesday.
The suspension of Tchadinfos.com began on Friday after the news site allegedly refused a request from Manany to remove articles about him. According to the Organisation for Online Media (AMET), Manany had asked the site to delete content, which Tchadinfos.com resisted, maintaining that the articles were factual.
AMET has called for an independent investigation into the incident. Access to the website was restored on Tuesday after being offline for four days.
In response to the allegations, Fedida stated that Manany “firmly denies” any involvement in the website’s suspension. “No complaint has been filed or any steps taken to obtain the suspension of the circulation of this media organ,” Fedida said.
Tchadinfos.com director Mamadou Djimtebaye had accused Manany of enlisting his South African lawyers to pressure the US-based hosting provider to take the site down. Djimtebaye claimed that Manany created a blog that copied the disputed articles and falsely accused Tchadinfos.com of content theft, which led to the suspension.
Fedida also refuted the existence of Manany’s blog, dismissing it as untrue. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) criticised the suspension, calling it an attempt to intimidate the media and a dangerous precedent for press freedom.
Tchadinfos.com operates not only as a news website but also runs a radio station and a television channel in Chad.