Niger: Prosecution of five released human rights defenders must be dropped
Paris, 14 December 2021 - On the evening of 12 December 2021, Armadan Moussa, Biliyaminou Idi, Moubarak Habou and Hima Hamani - activists of Tournons La Page (TLP) Niger - and Mathieu Pourchier - salaried advocacy and protection officer of Agir ensemble pour les droits humains, seconded to the international secretariat of Tournons La Page - who had been arbitrarily detained since 10 December, were provisionally released.
The five human rights defenders were provisionally released after 60 hours of detention in difficult conditions and after strong international mobilisation. They were charged with unlawful assembly. They must remain at the disposal of justice and are not allowed to leave Niamey without informing the police authorities beforehand.
On 10 December 2021, International Human Rights Day, Armadan Moussa, Biliyaminou Idi, Moubarak Habou and Hima Hamani, all four members of the Niamey branch of TLP-Niger, were arbitrarily arrested by the police and taken into custody at the Niamey central police station while participating in a "citizen's caravan for democracy". On the same day, half an hour earlier, Mathieu Pourchier, an advocacy and protection officer for TLP's international secretariat, was violently arrested by four plainclothes police officers while riding his motorbike in the city, before being interrogated and taken into custody at the Niamey central police station. All five were charged with "illegal assembly".
It should be noted that these accusations of illegal assembly are spurious because the Citizens' Democracy Caravan, a peaceful activity organised every year since 2017 on the occasion of International Human Rights Day by TLP-Niger, with the aim of raising awareness among the population of Niamey about respect for fundamental rights and the benefits of a democratic system, had not been subject to any prior administrative ban. Moreover, Mathieu Pourchier was not present at the site of the march at the time of his arrest.
Furthermore, participation in an activity such as the "Citizens' Caravan for Democracy" is protected by the right to peaceful assembly as recognised by Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, ratified by Niger.
ACAT-France, ACAT-Niger, ActionAid France, AfricanDefenders, Agir ensemble pour les droits humains, Amnesty International, Avocats sans frontières France (ASF France), CRID, Fédération internationale des ACAT (FIACAT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders the Mouvement de la Paix, RITIMO, Secours Catholique-Caritas France and Tournons La Page recall that the five human rights defenders, who were finally released, should never have been imprisoned in the first place, as their detention was arbitrary and aimed at preventing them from carrying out their legitimate human rights activities.
The signatory organisations call on the Nigerien authorities to drop all judicial and administrative proceedings against the five human rights defenders and ensure that they can carry out their legitimate human rights activities without hindrance or fear of reprisals.
The signatory organisations call on the Nigerien authorities to
Stop all judicial and administrative proceedings against Armadan Moussa, Biliyaminou Idi, Moubarak Habou, Hima Hamani and Mathieu Pourchier;
Put an end to all practices of harassment against members of civil society;
Guarantee in all circumstances the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association.
Signatory organisations and press contacts
ACAT-France
ACAT-Niger
ActionAid France
AfricanDefenders
Agir ensemble pour les droits humains | Tim Hughes, President
t.hughes@aedh.org | +33 6 77 69 42 91
Amnesty International | Sadibou Marong, press officer
sadibou.marong@amnesty.org +221 33 869 30 03
Avocats sans frontières France (ASF France)
CRID
Fédération internationale des ACAT (FIACAT) | Adéa Guillot, Director of Communications
aguillot@fidh.org +33 6 07 73 54 78
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) within the framework of the Observatory for the
protection of human rights defenders
Peace Movement
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
of Human Rights Defenders
RI
