Lawyers call for Niger's deposed president to be released

Lawyers for Niger's deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, called Friday for his immediate release, three years after he was toppled and detained by the military.

Bazoum has been held with his wife, Hadiza, in a wing of the presidential palace in Niamey since a junta led by General Abdourahamane Tiani seized power on July 26, 2023.

Several West African lawyers and US human rights attorney Reed Brody wrote that the international collective of lawyers for Bazoum was demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the president and his wife. They said the couple were being arbitrarily detained, had never been brought before a magistrate and had not been informed of any proceedings against them.

The lawyers said Bazoum and his wife had been allowed almost no contact with the outside world and had received no visits from family in the past three years. The European Union, UN experts and international leaders have also called for his release.

Months after the coup, the junta said it intended to put Bazoum on trial, accusing him of treason and of plotting against the security and authority of the state. The source says no case has been publicly opened against the former president. Bazoum was elected in 2021 and has not resigned, although his term formally ended in April this year.

The junta has presided over a crackdown on opponents, jailing journalists, activists and civil society figures.