I am adding my voice to a chorus of global outrage. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Amnesty International, and countless others have demanded the immediate release of Moussa Tchangari, a human rights defender rotting in a Nigerien prison on trumped-up charges. The military authorities in Niamey must stop using terrorism allegations to crush dissent. They are bound by international law to guarantee his liberty, due process, and a fair trial.
The nightmare began on December 3, 2024. Plain-clothed officers snatched Tchangari from his home in Niamey, just an hour after he returned from my 70th birthday symposium in Abuja. He had flown in to speak in Hausa about African solidarity in defending democracy. He never made it back to his family’s embrace. Instead, he was kidnapped—there is no other word for it—by a swarm of armed men who offered no explanation. Days later, the charges came: “criminal association with a terrorist enterprise,” “undermining national defence,” and “intelligence with enemy powers.” The real crime? His public criticism of the junta’s crackdown on civic space, including a social media post on November 12, 2024, slamming the interior minister’s decision to revoke licenses for two humanitarian NGOs.
Tchangari is no stranger to repression. For over three decades, this journalist, civil society leader, and secretary-general of Alternative Escapes Citoyens has fought for democracy, using community radio stations to educate and mobilize. He has organized street protests against hunger and poverty, and previous juntas have jailed him before. In 2015, under a democratic government, he was arrested for criticizing the state’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency, but international pressure secured his release.
This time is different. The stakes are higher. Tchangari was initially held in Niamey, where his family could visit. Then he was moved to Filingue prison, 170 kilometers away, where judicial authorization is needed for twice-weekly visits. On June 23, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled his detention arbitrary and a violation of international law, calling for his release and reparations. But the junta has ignored them. Three appeals for his release, filed in 2025, have failed. He has not yet stood trial. He has not even been told which terrorist group he supposedly conspired with. The charges carry the death penalty.
The junta, which seized power in July 2023, has systematically targeted opponents, journalists, and civil society. Former President Mohamed Bazoum remains in arbitrary detention. Niger has withdrawn from the Economic Community of West African States and the International Criminal Court. This is a regime that silences dissent with terrorism charges, a tactic as cowardly as it is cruel.
I join the call: release Moussa Tchangari and all political prisoners. The authorities in Niamey must uphold their obligations under international law. Stop using terrorism as a weapon against free speech. Dear Comrade Moussa, remain strong. Progressive forces around the world are fighting for your freedom.
