Niger’s ousted leader to be charged with treason – Junta

Niger’s military junta has an­nounced plans to prosecute deposed Presi­dent, Mohamed Bazoum, for high treason and undermining national security.

This is the latest sign that the junta intends to resist international pressure to return power to Mr Bazoum.

He has been held in the base­ment of his palace since the military staged a coup about three weeks ago.

Mr Bazoum was in “good spir­its” despite being held in “difficult” conditions, his doctor said after a visit.

Saturday’s visit was approved amid growing international de­mands for Mr Bazoum’s release.

But in a sign that it is harden­ing its position, the junta said in a statement read out on state TV that it had gathered evidence to pros­ecute “the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger”.

It did not give further details. Mr Bazoum, 63, is being held captive with his wife and son and there were growing concerns about their health.

Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, the head of the presidential guards unit, declared himself Niger’s new ruler on 26 July after overthrowing him.

The West African regional bloc, Ecowas, has threatened military action to reverse the coup, but it has so far failed to follow through on its threat.

The coup leaders have warned they will defend themselves against any intervention.

Ecowas has also imposed sanc­tions on the junta, including cutting electricity to Niger. This has caused blackouts in the capital, Niamey, and other major cities.

On Saturday, a high-powered delegation of Muslim clerics from neighbouring Nigeria met junta leaders in Niamey in a bid to medi­ate an end to the crisis.

Junta-appointed Prime Minister, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, said he was optimistic that talks with Ecowas would take place in the coming days “to discuss how the sanctions against us will be lifted”.

The coup in Niger mirrored similar takeovers in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, amid an Islamist insurgency and a growing Russian influence in the wider Sahel region through its mercenary group, Wagner.

Despite his captivity, Mr Bazoum was able to publish an article in The Washington Post stating that he was a hostage and that the coup would have “devastating conse­quences for our country, our region and the entire world”.

Mr Bazoum is reported to have lost a “worrying” amount of weight, while his 20-year-old son, who has a chronic medical condi­tion, was also reportedly denied care.

UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, described the conditions of the detention as inhumane, degrad­ing and in violation of internation­al human rights law.

His daughter, Zazia, 34, who was on holiday in France during the coup, told the UK-based Guard­ian newspaper last week that her father, mother and brother had no clean water or electricity and were living on rice and pasta.

—BBC

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