Nobel winners demand jailed Niger president Bazoum’s release

Supporters of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum gather to show their support for him in Niamey on July 26, 2023. An attempted coup was underway on July 26, 2023 in the fragile state of Niger, where members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, triggering a standoff with the army, sources said. The West African bloc ECOWAS and the African Union lashed what they called an “attempted coup d’etat,” a term echoed by a source close to Bazoum. (Photo by AFP)

Some 30 people, including Nobel Prize-winners Denis Mukwege and Wole Sonyinka, on Sunday called for the release of Niger’s ex-president Mohamed Bazoum, held captive since a July 2023 coup.

In an appeal published in French newspaper Le Monde, the signatories urged the army chiefs who overthrew Bazoum to release the democratically elected leader.

In their view Bazoum and his wife Hadiza were “the victims of arbitrary detentions,” kept in “very harsh conditions” under strict surveillance and with limited communication with the outside world.

Led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger’s military authorities accuse Bazoum of treason, financing terrorism and plotting to undermine the state.

But the writers, which also include Cameroonian author Achille Mbembe, argued: “The putschists intend to make President Bazoum pay the price for his resolute fight for freedoms and the rule of law, and even more, the price for his vigorous fight against corruption and embezzlement of public funds.”

Bazoum refused to resign after his ousting and has been held at the presidential palace since the coup.

Since gaining independence from former colonial ruler France in 1960, Niger has seen five coups along with a further two attempts.

The military leaders justified their taking power by citing the deteriorating security situation.

Yet insecurity persists. Some 1,500 civilians and soldiers have died in jihadist attacks in Niger in the last year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

By contrast, 650 people died between July 2022 and 2023, when Bazoum was in charge.