Niger Courts Uphold Charges, Extend Six-Month Detention of Activist Moussa Tchangari
Rights groups view the charges as a tactic to silence dissent, calling for Tchangari’s immediate freedom.
Overview
- Tchangari was arrested on December 3, 2024, by plainclothes officers at his Niamey home and charged a month later with conspiracy, undermining national defence and plotting against state authority.
- The Niamey High Court’s January 3 indictment includes a potential death penalty for plotting with enemy powers under Niger’s terrorism laws.
- His lawyers’ motions in March and May to annul the proceedings and remove the counterterrorism court’s jurisdiction were both rejected, prompting new appeals.
- He remains in pretrial detention at Filingué prison, 170 kilometres from Niamey, without having been interviewed on the merits of the accusations before a judge.
- Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, FIDH and OMCT assert that his detention is solely linked to his exercise of free speech and insist that the authorities drop all charges and release him immediately.