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NIGER: THE UNITED NATIONS RECOGNIZES THE ARBITRARY DETENTION OF MOUSSA TCHANGARI AND CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- ILAAD
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has rendered its Opinion on the case of Mr. Moussa Tchangari, finding his deprivation of liberty arbitrary and calling for his immediate release. The Opinion follows the complaint submitted by the International League Against Arbitrary Detention (ILAAD), alongside Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC). More than a year and a half after his arrest, Moussa Tchangari remains detained in Niger.
In its Opinion No. 2026/4, the Working Group brings the authority of the United Nations behind what ILAAD and AEC have argued from the outset: that the prosecution of one of Niger's most respected civil society figures has no basis in law.
AN ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Moussa Tchangari is a Nigerien human rights defender, co-founder and secretary general of Alternative Espaces Citoyens, and one of the most recognized figures in Nigerien civil society. On 3 December 2024, returning from an international conference organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Abidjan, he was arrested at his home, without a warrant, by four armed men in civilian clothing. Hooded, he was taken to an undisclosed location. For some forty-eight hours, his family and his lawyers had no knowledge of his whereabouts, until his transfer to the Central Service for Combating Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime (SCLCT/CTO).
The Working Group found that this period — from his arrest to his transfer — constituted an enforced disappearance, in violation of international law.
AN ARBITRARY DETENTION UNDER CATEGORIES I, II, III AND V
A month later, Moussa Tchangari was formally charged with five fabricated offenses, ranging from apology of terrorism to conspiracy against the authority of the State. After more than a year of detention and investigation, no factual evidence has been produced to support them.
The Working Group concludes that his detention is arbitrary on four counts: the absence of any legal basis (category I); the repression of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, of association, and to take part in the conduct of public affairs (category II); the violation of his right to a fair trial (category III); and persecution on the basis of his opinions (category V).
The deprivation of liberty was found to be contrary to articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to articles 2, 9, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 25 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
THE WORKING GROUP CALLS FOR RELEASE AND REPARATION
The Working Group requests that Niger remedy the situation without delay. In light of all the circumstances of the case, it considers that the appropriate remedy is the immediate release of Moussa Tchangari, together with an enforceable right to reparation, including compensation, in accordance with international law.
This Opinion does not stand alone. ILAAD recalls that the Working Group has adopted other opinions in recent years concerning arbitrary detention in the Republic of Niger — among them Opinion No. 56/2024 — which point to a recurrent pattern of prolonged pre-trial detention.
ILAAD: RELEASE MOUSSA TCHANGARI, IMMEDIATELY AND UNCONDITIONALLY
ILAAD urges the Nigerien authorities to implement this Opinion without delay and to release Moussa Tchangari immediately and unconditionally. After eighteen months of arbitrary detention, the time for his freedom is now.
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