The International Collective for the Liberation of Mohamed Bazoum sends an open letter to several international institutions. Signed by more than 150 people, the text calls for urgent international mobilization for the release of the Nigerien president overthrown by a military coup on July 26, 2023. Since that date, he and his wife have still been detained at the presidential residence in Niamey.
The open letter is addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as well as to the chairmen of the commissions of the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The collective denounces arbitrary detention and asks these institutions to take a public position.
Nicolas N’Diaye, former parliamentarian and secretary general of the Democratic League of Senegal, is one of the signatories. “ President Mohamed Bazoum, for two and a half years, has been sequesteredhe reminds on the microphone of Magali Lagrange. And this is contrary to all national and international rules, with the conditions of his detention, prolonged isolation, limited access to care, restriction of contacts with the outside world and the absence of any medical evaluation. ».
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« Avoiding the trivialization of state violence »
He continues: “ Worse still, he was detained next to (Abdourahamane) Tiani[[qui a pris le pouvoir au Niger en juillet 2023, NDLR]because we want to make it a human shield. This is why we call on the entire international community to speak out against this injustice, to avoid the trivialization of state violence, and to use all means to free Mohamed Bazoum who is being kidnapped and unjustly imprisoned. »
On November 26, Mohamed Bazoum’s children also asked the international community to mobilize for the release of their parents, in an article published by the media Young Africa.
Mohamed Bazoum, elected in 2021, has never resigned.
Furthermore, the military junta announced in August 2023 that it intended to prosecute Mohamed Bazoum for “ conspiracy to undermine state security and authority » et « crime of treason “, the latter charge being punishable by death, according to his lawyers.
The junta then had the ousted president’s immunity lifted in 2024. But he is not the subject of legal proceedings in Niger, according to his lawyers.
The regime in place, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, had notably justified the coup d’état by the recurrence of jihadist attacks, which have undermined the country for around ten years. However, it is struggling to eradicate this violence.
