Yaya Dillo

Yaya Dillo Djérou Bétchi led the Parti Socialiste sans Frontières (Socialist Party Without Borders, PSF) and had declared his candidacy for the presidential election. A cousin of transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, from the same Zaghawa community, he had become his leading opponent.

Nine days before his death, a party activist was arrested and accused of attempting to assassinate the president of the Supreme Court. Relatives went to the National State Security Agency to look for him; shots were fired. The government then accused Yaya Dillo of leading an attack on the agency. Interviewed by AFP the day before his death, he denied any involvement and called the accusation a set-up: the aim, he said, was to eliminate him physically before the vote.

Security forces surrounded and then stormed the party headquarters in the Klemat district. Yaya Dillo was killed there. The building, riddled with bullet holes, was bulldozed the following day. Dozens of activists and family members were arrested and taken to the Koro Toro high-security prison; ten relatives were held there for ten more months, even though a court had acquitted them.

Two and a half years later, no court has established the circumstances of his death. This is why the family has turned to the French courts.

For the news agency, five forensic medicine experts examined a photograph of Yaya Dillo's body, sent the very day of his death. Their conclusion, based on the location and nature of the visible wound: he was most likely shot in the side of the head, at point-blank range.

Professor Derrick Pounder, a British pathologist who has worked for the United Nations and human rights organisations, describes a wound inconsistent with an exchange of fire and considers that it strongly supports the hypothesis of an extrajudicial execution.

As early as 7 March 2024, experts from the Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG), consulted by the IRCT at Reuters' request, identified in the photograph a bullet entry wound fired at close range, almost in contact with the right temple. They called on the Chadian authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation.

Asked about the photograph, these findings and the progress of any investigation, the Chadian government did not respond. The agency states that it could not independently establish the exact circumstances of the death. But since publication, no Chadian, French or American authority has produced anything contradicting these findings, nor opened the investigation that was called for.

Yaya Dillo's death did not end the violence against his party. It marked its beginning. Ten of his relatives remained in detention at the Koro Toro high-security prison even though a court had acquitted them. Amnesty International called for their release in December 2024.

Robert Gam, secretary-general of the Parti Socialiste sans Frontières, was first targeted on 20 May 2024: his 17-year-old son was seriously stabbed at their home. On 20 September 2024, after a press conference at which he called for the release of detained activists, he was abducted in broad daylight in N'Djamena. Held incommunicado by the National State Security Agency, without charge or trial (read the PSF's announcement of his disappearance), he was only released on the night of 3 to 4 June 2025, after more than eight months, without any official explanation.

On top of these two cases, many party activists have been subjected to intimidation, violence, abductions and arbitrary detention.

Questioned in the French National Assembly by MP Aurélien Taché, the French government replied in writing that it firmly condemned all violence against political actors and took note of the family's intention to bring the case before the French courts. Read the question and the answer (PDF, in French).

In Chad. On 6 August 2024, Robert Gam, secretary-general of the PSF, filed a murder complaint in N'Djamena. Six weeks later, he was abducted and held incommunicado for eight months. The complaint filed by Yaya Dillo's widow has likewise gone nowhere.

In France. In June 2025, Ousmane Dillo, Yaya Dillo's brother and a French-Chadian citizen, filed a complaint against persons unknown before the French courts, with the law firm Kimia Avocats.

On 26 May 2025, the family's lawyers referred the case to three United Nations special rapporteurs, responsible for extrajudicial executions, freedom of expression and enforced disappearances. They are asking for an international investigation and for the protection of the family.

On 17 March 2026, in its concluding observations on Chad (§ 10), the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern at the lack of accountability for “the killing of Yaya Dillo” during an operation by the security forces.

On 29 April 2025, MP Aurélien Taché questioned the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs about the assassination of Yaya Dillo (written question no. 6326). In its answer of 27 May 2025, the government firmly condemned all violence against political actors and undertook to make relevant information available to the courts.

On 24 July 2025, the family sent an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron asking France to call for an independent international investigation. It has received no reply, not even an acknowledgement of receipt.

On 28 February 2026, the second anniversary of the assassination, Ousmane Dillo wrote to President Donald J. Trump.

On 22 September 2026, ahead of the France-Chad business forum organised in Paris by Medef International, he asked Medef, the French employers' federation, to devote a session to the rule of law and to inform participating companies of the situation in Chad.