Dozens have been released, but former president Buzzom, others remain unjustly imprisoned
This week, the Niger junta released around 50 people from prison, including former government officials, military officers and journalists arrested after the July 2023 coup. Several others still suffer behind the bar, with politically motivated accusations, particularly former president Mohamed Bazoom and his wife.
The decision to release prisoners followed recommendations by the National Committee representing participants in the February consultation on the transition to democratic control of the country. This release comes days after Junta leader Abdullahamane Tiani has been sworn in as president of Niger for the next five years. All political parties have been dissolved.
Among those released are Mahamane Sani Isofou, former Minister of Defence Kara Mutari, former Minister of Defence Kara Mutari, former ruling party and the executive director of the Party for Democracy and Socialism in Nigeria (Parthi Nigerian Democracy et e le le cososudue).
Since the coup, the junta has cracked down on opposition parties, the media and peaceful opposition. Authorities arbitrarily arrested several officials from the exiled government and those nearby the retired president, denying them the right to just proceedings and fair trials. Intelligences Services secretly detained many people before moving to high security prisons at manufactured fees, such as “threatening national security.” They were taken to military court despite being civilians.
Bazoom and his wife are detained in the Presidential Palace in Niamey’s capital. In February, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Meaningful Detention, an independent expert group investigating cases of deprivation of freedom, discovered that Bazoom and his wife’s detention violated international human rights law and called for immediate release.
A prominent human rights activist and critic of the military junta Mussatyangari, who was voluntarily arrested in December 2024, is also being detained on terrorist charges.
Release of a junta where former officials are illegally detained is a step in the right direction, but there is a need to be done more. Nigerian authorities need to free all people, including Bazoom and his wife, who are not accused of recognizable crimes and credible charges of opposition figures and activists targeted for political views. And the junta must recognize the rights of free expression, associations and peaceful assembly.
Ilaria Allegrozzi, Senior Sahel Researcher
