Authorities Should Immediately Release Mohamed Bazoum, Other Political Detainees
- By: Ilaria Allegrozzi | Senior Sahel Researcher
- Photo: Former Niger President Mohamed Bazoum at the Elysee Palace in Paris, February 16, 2023. © 2023 Michel Euler/AP Photo
Niger’s junta has detained former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum and his wife at the presidential palace in the capital, Niamey, since the military coup in July 2023.
This month the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an independent expert body that investigates cases of deprivation of liberty, found that the detention of Bazoum and his wife was arbitrary in violation of international human rights law, and called for their immediate release.
This was not the first time that international bodies have recognized the illegality of Bazoum’s detention. In September 2023, Bazoum filed a case concerning his family’s detention with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice, a regional court that has jurisdiction across several West African countries. The court ruled in December 2023 that Bazoum and his family were arbitrarily detained and called for their release.
In April 2024, Niger’s junta initiated legal proceedings against Bazoum to lift his presidential immunity so he could be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed during his presidency. In June, a court obliged following a proceeding that failed to meet basic due process and international fair trial standards. With immunity removed, the junta announced its intention to prosecute Bazoum for high treason.
The miscarriage of justice against Bazoum falls in line with a military junta that has cracked down on the political opposition and the media, has expanded repressive measures to crush dissent, and has restricted oversight of the human rights situation across Niger.
The authorities have arbitrarily detained at least 30 officials from the ousted government, denying them due process and fair trial rights. Last October, they stripped nine people linked to Bazoum of their Nigerien nationality, depriving them of legal and social protections. In December, they arrested civil society activist Moussa Tchangari and charged him with “infringing on national defense.” His trial has yet to start. And earlier this month, authorities ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross to leave the country without providing any explanations, raising renewed concerns about the monitoring of detention facilities.
Bazoum should not be arbitrarily detained. Niger’s junta should cooperate with the UN Working Group and release him, his wife, and all those who are being detained for politically motivated reasons.
