France called on Tuesday for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Niger’s ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, nearly a year after he was overthrown in a coup.
Bazoum “has been held prisoner for a year in scandalous conditions,” said French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine. “We have always condemned this detention, we still strongly condemn it and continue to call for his immediate and unconditional release,” he told reporters in Paris.
France is also worried about a recent decision to lift Bazoum’s immunity from prosecution, which could impact the conditions of his detention. Lemoine noted, “We are concerned that this could have consequences for the conditions in which he is detained.”
Bazoum, who was elected in 2021, was overthrown on July 26 last year by General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of his presidential guard. Despite the coup, Bazoum has not resigned and still considers himself Niger’s rightful leader.
The ousted president, who has been denied contact with lawyers, faces accusations of plotting against state security and treason. The ruling military claims he planned an “armed intervention” to support himself against the coup in conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Lemoine added that since Bazoum’s overthrow and the end of Niger’s defense ties with France, “the decisions taken by the junta have had disastrous effects, with a resurgence in terrorist acts.”
The ruling military junta in Niger asked France to remove its troops, who were fighting jihadists, at the end of 2023. By mid-September this year, all US forces in Niger are also expected to have left.
