Death Penalty Fears For Niger Ex-president – Lawyer

Death penalty fears for Niger ex-president – lawyer

By Natasha Booty & Chris Ewokor

Mohamed Bazoum, pictured here seven months before the coup, was stripped of his immunity in June

The lawyer for Niger’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum has told the BBC as the country marks a year since the coup that he fears the former head of state could face the death penalty.

Last month Niger’s top court stripped Mr Bazoum of his immunity from prosecution, paving the way for him to be tried for treason – which is punishable by death – and other alleged offences.

Mr Bazoum, 64, and his wife Hadiza have been held in detention for the last year with no telephone access and no visits allowed apart from a doctor, lawyer Moussa Coulibaly said.

Earlier this week, France demanded their release but junta leader Gen Abdourahamane Tiani has given a defiant TV address, saying no state or foreign organisation can tell Niger how to behave.

In addition to Mr Bazoum, at least 30 former government officials and people with close links to him have been arbitrarily detained, as well as several journalists, says a joint report by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Federation for Human Rights.

“It is safe to say that there is no longer any rule of law in Niger”, Mr Coulibaly, the ex-president’s lawyer and the former head of Niger’s Bar Association, told the BBC.

The lifting of Mr Bazoum’s immunity “possibly implies that he will be judged by a special court which will be neither independent nor impartial and he risks the death penalty by shooting if convicted”, he said.

Gen Tchiani’s speech broadcast on Thursday evening was as much aimed at France, the former colonial power, as his own citizens.

“Those who fantasise about the imminent return to power of regimes that have fallen under their sway are in for a rude awakening. Before it’s too late, they’ll have to face facts: our march towards full sovereignty is inexorable,” he told viewers.

“No state, no inter-state organisation, will dictate to us how to behave, nor its agenda in terms of strategic or diplomatic partnerships,” Gen Tchiani pointedly said.

Niger’s new military rulers have pivoted towards Russia after severing defence and diplomatic ties with France.

They took power with promises to improve security – and earlier this month a new security alliance was announced between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali as they dropped out of the wider West African bloc, Ecowas.

Yet the Islamist militant attacks and security challenges continue, to the frustration of citizens.

News outlets are expected only to report on the military’s successes, and radio stations end up having to rely on speaking to local activists for factual information about what is really happening on the ground, explains analyst Beverly Ochieng on the BBC’s Global Jigsaw podcast.

Since Niger’s military took power a year ago, rights groups say it has cracked down on the independent media as well as peaceful dissent.

The wider Sahel region – much of which is governed by military juntas – is fast becoming a “no-news zone”, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Meanwhile the US has announced it expects to withdraw the last of it 1,000 troops from Niger in August – a month earlier than planned.

It had used the West African nation as its primary base for monitoring regional jihadist activity, but that deal came to an end a few months ago after tense talks with the new administration.