FILE - Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum smiles before a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, Feb. 16, 2023 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Niger’s highest court lifted the immunity of the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, nearly a year after he was overthrown by mutinous soldiers, his lawyer said Friday, June 14, 2024, opening the door for the military junta to prosecute him for alleged high treason.
Before Bazoum was forcibly removed from power, Niger was the West’s last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that Islamic extremist groups have turned into a global terror hot spot. The proceedings before the State Court have been marred by serious irregularities, including violations of Bazoum’s rights to present evidence in his defense, to communicate with his legal counsel, and to be heard before an independent court, according to Human Rights Watch, a leading rights group.
Bazoum’s lawyers have been unable to communicate with him since last October and have had restricted access to case material, according to HRW.court of the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, ruled that Bazoum and his family were arbitrarily detained and called for him to be restored to office.