France demands ‘unconditional release’ of Niger president

France on Tuesday called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Niger’s ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, almost a year after he was overthrown in a coup.

Bazoum has “been held prisoner for a year in scandalous conditions”, foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.

“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 concerned about a decision to lift Bazoum’s immunity from prosecution “which could have consequences for the conditions in which he is detained”, Lemoine added.

Elected in 2021, Bazoum was overthrown on July 26 last year by the head of his presidential guard, General Abdourahamane Tiani.

The president has never resigned and still claims to be Niger’s rightful leader.

Bazoum, who has been denied contact with lawyers, is accused of plotting against state security and treason.

The ruling military accuses him of planning an “armed intervention” to support him against the coup in phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of state Antony Blinken.

Lemoine added that, since Bazoum’s overthrow and Niger’s breaking defence ties with France, “the decisions taken by the junta have had disastrous effects, with a resurgence in terrorist acts”.

Niger’s ruling military asked former colonial power France to remove troops who were there to fight jihadists at the end of 2023.

By mid-September this year, all US forces in the country are also expected to have left.

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AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)