The ousted president of Niger remains in custody a year after the coup.

Mohamed Bazoum, the deposed president of Niger, is still being detained in strict custody by the country’s occupying military one year after a coup, and people close to him are concerned about an impending trial.

On July 26, 2023, General Abdourahamane Tiani, the commander of Bazoum’s presidential security, toppled him. He was elected president of the Sahelian nation in 2021, has never resigned, and continues to make this claim.

What terms are attached to his detention?

Mohamed Bazoum and his spouse Hadiza have been residing at the presidential palace in Niamey since the coup.

On August 19, 2023, he made his final public appearance when a Nigerian mediator paid him a visit and was captured on national television.

Since then, the situation has become more restrictive; in October, the military accused him of trying to flee, a charge that his attorneys have denied.

Only Bazoum’s doctor is allowed to see him twice a week because his phone has been stolen.

Even in these difficult circumstances, Bazoum never wavers.

He claims that their physical condition is good. They are in a pretty good mood. The president is determined to keep up his opposition, according to Hamid N’Gade, his communications advisor, who spoke to AFP.

He is a devout Republican and a man of convictions. To him, it makes no sense to step down.

According to a person close to him, Bazoum “could have resigned, gone back to his children, but he didn’t do that.” The source commended Bazoum as a symbol of courage and democracy.

After being held in custody alongside his parents, his son Salem Bazoum was temporarily freed in January and traveled to Togo.

What charges are made against him by the military?

Bazoum’s release was mandated by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc in mid-December, but the decision has not been followed.

Since then, Niger has left ECOWAS, and Bazoum’s presidential immunity was stripped last month by the Court of State, which was established by the occupying military.

Bazoum is accused of “treason” and “conspiracy to attack the security and authority of the state,” and he has not spoken to his attorneys.

He is charged of calling US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron to solicit their support for military action during the coup.

“This court lacks authority. “A putschist who was never sworn in appointed these people,” Bazoum’s attorney Mohamed Seydou Diagne stated.

Is he going to face trial?

A trial is now possible since his immunity has been lifted; however, a date has not yet been determined.

And the punishments that follow could be extremely harsh.

Moussa Coulibaly, the attorney for Bazoum and a former president of the Niger Bar Association, stated, “The crime of treason carries the death penalty, death by shooting, which is still in force in Niger even though it has not been carried out for thirty years.”

“And it’s life in prison for conspiring to overthrow the government.”

Bazoum might be able to speak in public for the first time since the coup during a trial.

“This is an extraordinary legal system that fails to comply with any of the core principles of the right to a just and impartial trial,” stated Diagne.

He went on, “We do not accept sham trials.”

All it will be is a satire of justice, carrying on from where they left off. The deputy chief of staff, Oumar Moussa, continued, “They are committed to proving him guilty at whatever costs.

Who are his advocates?

A number of Western officials demanded his quick release in the first few weeks following the coup.

In order to put pressure on the military that rules Niamey, ECOWAS implemented harsh economic penalties and even threatened to use force to bring Bazoum back to power.

However, the sanctions were withdrawn in February and the intervention never happened.

Few international calls have been made in recent months for Bazoum’s release.

The junta puts him under inhumane pressure and has made him a captive. We are concerned about the judicial farce that will probably ensue from the lifting of his immunity, a French diplomatic source told AFP.

“We don’t comment on Bazoum’s circumstances; we don’t meddle in our member states’ political choices,” an IMF representative, whose assistance to Niger has restarted, told AFP.

The attacks on a significant oil pipeline have recently been attributed to rebel forces in Niger, which are calling for his return to power.