Click to expand Image Charfadine Galmaye Saleh (L) and Makaila Nguebla. © Private On September 17, the Chadian authorities published a decree purporting to strip blogger Makaila Nguebla and journalist Charfadine Galmaye Saleh of their nationality. The move marks a chilling escalation in the repression of dissent. By wielding citizenship as a political weapon, the government not only violates international law but crosses a line that threatens the rights of two outspoken critics and the broader foundation of civic life in Chad.Both Nguela and Saleh are known critics of the government in Chad. Nguebla is a blogger, human rights activist, and formerly served as the president’s human rights adviser. Saleh is the editor of TchadOne, an influential online media outlet. Both men are currently in exile for their safety. Making an example of them by trying to strip them of citizenship not only violates their fundamental rights but creates a climate of fear for all local dissenters. Journalists, activists, and ordinary citizens alike are forced to weigh their right to free speech against the existential threat of losing their status, identity, and security as citizens.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights sets out that everyone is entitled to a nationality, which should never be revoked arbitrarily or in a manner that leads to statelessness. This legal norm is reinforced in multiple international and regional African conventions to which Chad is a party. Yet Chad is brazenly purporting to do just this. Citizenship is not simply a passport or a bureaucratic classification. It is a fundamental legal status to which many civil and political rights attach. Without it, individuals lose a key source of protection and are vulnerable to rights violations, such as arbitrary detention, interference with private and family lives, denial of access to their country, and other deprivations.This move comes as the rights climate in Chad continues to worsen: opposition leaders face long prison sentences, civil society and journalists are increasingly suppressed, security forces are accused of carrying out violence with total impunity, and the president continues to solidify power. As attempts were taken to strip Nguelba and Galamaye of their citizenship, the National Assembly voted to remove term limits for the president. Who will dare speak out against this move now?What the government hopes to gain in the short term by banishing two critics will cost the country dearly in legitimacy and stability. When citizenship becomes a pawn in the hands of those in power, the rule of law unravels and, with it, the prospects for a more democratic and rights-respecting Chad.