The decision paved the way for the junta to prosecute the democratically elected president for “high treason.”
Military-ruled Niger’s highest court has lifted the immunity of the country’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, setting up a possible trial nearly a year after he was ousted by rebels.
Abdou Dan Galadima, president of the National Court, the country’s highest judicial body established by the military junta in November last year, announced the decision on Friday.
Military authorities launched legal proceedings earlier this year and have said they ultimately intend to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining national security.
Bazoum, who is under house arrest along with his family, is said to have held telephone talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an effort to secure Western support in the event of a coup in July 2023.
The trial has been postponed twice, with Bazoum’s lawyers accusing him of several obstacles to his right to legal representation, and they have not been able to contact him since October last year.
Human Rights Watch has alleged that the trial was riddled with serious irregularities, including violations of Bazoum’s rights to present evidence in his defence, to have access to a lawyer, and to be heard by an independent tribunal.
Late last year, the highest court of the West African regional association ECOWAS ruled that Bazoum and his family had been arbitrarily detained and called for his release and reinstatement to his duties. Niger withdrew from the association a month later.
After Friday’s hearing, Ould Salem Mohamed, one of Bazoum’s lawyers, said he was taking the verdict to heart and that his team would issue a statement soon.
Before President Bazoum was forcibly removed from power, Niger was the West’s last major security partner in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert that has been hit by deadly violence by armed groups for years.
Bazoum, a former teacher, was elected president in 2021, the country’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1960. He has been praised for his democratic credentials, providing a platform for powers such as France and the United States to launch a security campaign against ISIL (ISIS) and militant groups affiliated with al-Qaida.
The junta subsequently expelled the French troops, and U.S. troops were ordered to withdraw as well, and officially began their withdrawal.
