Un calls for immediate release of nigerien human rights defender

July 8, 2026 — The Observatory commends the Working Group’s Opinion No. 4/2026, adopted on March 23, 2026, and made public on June 23, 2026. The opinion declares Moussa Tiangari’s detention arbitrary, following a complaint submitted by the International League Against Arbitrary Detention (ILAAD) and sustained advocacy by civil society, including the Observatory, which has repeatedly demanded his immediate release.

On December 3, 2024, the Secretary-General of Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC)—a Nigerien organization promoting human rights, migrant rights, and democratic values—was abducted from his home in Niamey. He was held incommunicado for approximately 48 hours, raising concerns about torture and ill-treatment. On December 5, 2024, Moussa Tiangari was located in the premises of the Central Service for Combating Terrorism and Organized Transnational Crime (SCLCT/CTO) in Niamey, where he was placed in police custody. On January 3, 2025, he was formally charged by the presiding judge of the High Court of Niamey.

His arrest coincided with his return from Abuja, Nigeria, where he had attended the board meeting of the Nigerian Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a partner of AEC. Days earlier, he had traveled to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to participate in the seventh edition of the “Itinerant Humanitarium” conference, organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on November 28, 2024. The event marked the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, focusing on humanitarian challenges and the importance of upholding international humanitarian law. A journalist with ties to Nigerien authorities accused him in a December 4, 2024 article of making statements during the event that allegedly harmed Niger’s interests. Additionally, AEC had organized a November 28, 2024 conference criticizing the military regime’s decision to strip citizens of their nationality, which included participation from the Prosecutor of the High Court of Niamey and former officials, including a former Minister of Justice.

The Working Group found Tiangari’s detention arbitrary due to the lack of legal basis, severe violations of his right to a fair trial, and discriminatory motives linked to his exercise of freedom of opinion and expression on public interest matters, participation in public affairs, and peaceful assembly and association. The Group concluded that Nigerien authorities violated Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Articles 2, 9, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 25, and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Observatory condemns Tiangari’s continued arbitrary detention at the high-security prison in Filingué, despite the Working Group’s unequivocal ruling. He faces charges of apology for terrorism (Article 399.1.17 (bis) of the Nigerien Penal Code), attacks on state security (Articles 62 and following), association with a terrorist enterprise (Article 399.1.19 of the Penal Code), attacks on national defense (Articles 66 and following), and conspiracy against state authority in collusion with hostile powers (Articles 62 and following). A conviction could result in the death penalty.

As recently as May 15, 2026, the Control Chamber of the Specialized Court of Appeal in Niamey rejected his request for provisional release. However, Order No. 2026-10 of February 16, 2026, which established the Code of Criminal Procedure, stipulates that provisional detention in terrorism cases cannot exceed twelve months, renewable once in criminal matters. Tiangari has been detained for over a year and a half. On June 19, 2026, his legal team filed a motion urging the Control Chamber to order his release. Yet, on June 26, 2026, Order No. 2026-35 retroactively amended Article 615, extending the maximum provisional detention period in criminal matters to four years, renewable once. His lawyers warn this change may be a deliberate effort to prolong his detention.

Tiangari’s arbitrary detention is not unprecedented. He has faced systematic judicial harassment for years due to his peaceful human rights work. In May 2015, he was detained for ten days and prosecuted for attacks on national defense and statements likely to demoralize troops, linked to reports published by AEC. On March 25, 2018, he was again arrested and detained for four months, charged with organizing and participating in an unauthorized protest, complicity in violence, assault, and destruction of property for his role in peaceful demonstrations against the 2018 finance law. In March 2020, he was arrested once more and detained for a month and a half following an anti-corruption protest denouncing embezzlement in military procurement.

His case reflects a broader pattern since the July 27, 2023 coup, marked by shrinking civic space and repeated violations of fundamental rights. Freedoms of expression, opinion, association, assembly, and protest have been systematically curtailed through arbitrary arrests, detentions, and nationality revocations targeting human rights defenders and dissenting voices.

The Observatory urges Nigerien authorities to act urgently by releasing Moussa Tiangari immediately and unconditionally, dropping all charges against him, ensuring his right to reparations, and conducting an independent investigation into his arbitrary detention and allegations of torture. Authorities must also halt all forms of judicial harassment against him and other human rights defenders in the country. Above all, they must uphold Niger’s obligations under international law, particularly Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to protect freedom of expression in all circumstances.