Authorities Ought to Instantly Launch Mohamed Bazoum, Different Political Detainees
- By: Ilaria Allegrozzi | Senior Sahel Researcher
- Photograph: Former Niger President Mohamed Bazoum on the Elysee Palace in Paris, February 16, 2023. © 2023 Michel Euler/AP Photograph
Niger’s junta has detained former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum and his spouse on the presidential palace within the capital, Niamey, because the military coup in July 2023.
This month the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, an impartial knowledgeable physique that investigates instances of deprivation of liberty, discovered that the detention of Bazoum and his spouse was arbitrary in violation of worldwide human rights legislation, and referred to as for his or her rapid launch.
This was not the primary time that worldwide our bodies have acknowledged the illegality of Bazoum’s detention. In September 2023, Bazoum filed a case regarding his household’s detention with the Financial Group of West African States (ECOWAS) Courtroom of Justice, a regional courtroom that has jurisdiction throughout a number of West African international locations. The courtroom ruled in December 2023 that Bazoum and his household have been arbitrarily detained and referred to as for his or her launch.
In April 2024, Niger’s junta initiated authorized proceedings in opposition to Bazoum to elevate his presidential immunity so he may very well be prosecuted for alleged crimes dedicated throughout his presidency. In June, a courtroom obliged following a continuing that failed to fulfill primary due course of and worldwide truthful trial requirements. With immunity eliminated, the junta introduced its intention to prosecute Bazoum for top treason.
The miscarriage of justice in opposition to Bazoum falls in step with a navy 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 state of affairs throughout Niger.
The authorities have arbitrarily detained not less than 30 officers from the ousted authorities, denying them due course of and truthful trial rights. Final October, they stripped 9 folks linked to Bazoum of their Nigerien nationality, depriving them of authorized and social protections. In December, they arrested civil society activist Moussa Tchangari and charged him with “infringing on nationwide protection.” His trial has but to start out. And earlier this month, authorities ordered the Worldwide Committee of the Pink Cross to go away the nation with out offering any explanations, elevating renewed considerations in regards to the monitoring of detention amenities.
Bazoum shouldn’t be arbitrarily detained. Niger’s junta ought to cooperate with the UN Working Group and launch him, his spouse, and all those that are being detained for politically motivated causes.
