(Niamey) Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown by a coup d’état on July 26 and held prisoner since, will file a complaint in Niamey against the perpetrators of the putsch and has referred the matter to the UN Human Rights Council, his lawyers announced on Monday.
This complaint, with the constitution of a civil party, consulted Monday by AFP, targets General Abdourahamane Tiani, the new strongman of Niger, and “all others”, for “attack and conspiracy against the authority of the State, crimes and offenses committed by officials and arbitrary arrests and confinements.”
PHOTO ORTN — TÉLÉ SAHEL VIA ARCHIVES AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
General Abdourahamane Tiani
The complaint, on behalf of Mr. Bazoum, his wife and their two children, should be filed “in the coming days” with the senior investigating judge of the Niamey high court, according to one of the lawyers interviewed. by AFP, Dominique Inchauspé.
In a press release, Mr. Bazoum’s lawyers also announced that they had contacted the “working group on arbitrary detention” and the “human rights committee”, two bodies of the UN Human Rights Council .
According to Me Unchallenged, the coup d’état of July 26 is “an attack on the dignity of the Nigerien state”, reaffirming “the absolute need to restore the rule of law”.
On September 18, Mr. Bazoum appealed to the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), denouncing in particular his “arbitrary arrest”.
Mohamed Bazoum, who still refuses to resign, has been held prisoner in his residence since the coup d’état.
It remains supported by certain countries, such as France, which refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the military regime and considers it its only interlocutor.
In mid-August, the authors of the coup d’état had for their part announced their intention to “pursue” Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and “endangering the security” of the country.
The military regime notably justified the coup d’état by “the squandering of public funds” by the former leaders, and announced on this subject the creation of an anti-corruption commission.