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A prominent civil society leader and outspoken critic of Niger’s military-led government was sentenced to prison on Friday, a month after being detained upon his return from an overseas trip, according to a statement from his NGO. The move has drawn attention to the country’s growing crackdown on dissent and civil liberties under the current administration.
In a brazen act that further illustrates the escalating repression in Niger, Moussa Tchangari—a relentless critic of the junta and a declared supporter of deposed president Mohamed Bazoum—was taken from his Niamey residence by unidentified gunmen on December 3. The event has sparked alarm among civil rights advocates.
Tchangari has openly condemned the July 2023 military takeover, spearheaded by General Abdourahamane Tiani of Niger’s elite presidential guard, referring to it as a “setback” for governance and the nation’s democratic aspirations.
Since the coup, Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s democratically elected president, has been held captive with his wife Hadiza inside the presidential palace in Niamey, the country’s capital, in a move that has drawn widespread international condemnation.
Tchangari was “incarcerated at Filingue prison by the senior investigating judge” of a Niamey court, his organisation Alternative Citizen Spaces (AEC) said.
Read also: Benin Seeks Answers From Niger Diplomat Over Terrorism Claims
Filingue prison, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) northeast of Niamey, is notorious for holding political dissidents who have opposed Niger’s previous governments.
According to the Air Info newspaper, Tchangari “was coming back from a trip outside of the country” when he was arrested at home by “four men dressed in civilian clothes”.
A longstanding figure of civil society in Niger, the 55-year-old is accused of “glorifying terrorism, undermining national security” and being involved in a “criminal conspiracy in connection with terrorism”, AEC has said.
His phone and laptop were seized during the arrest, according to AEC member Kaka Touda. A few days later, three rights groups — Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders — called for his release.
The organisations linked his arrest to what they called a “pervasive crackdown” by the Nigerien authorities on political opponents and the media since Tiani seized power in 2023.
Tchangari was previously arrested in May 2015 and later freed over critical remarks by his organisation about the humanitarian situation in southeastern Niger, where the army is fighting a jihadist insurgency.
