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Amnesty International Report 2003 - Niger

Covering events from January - December 2002

REPUBLIC OF NIGER
Head of state: Mamadou Tandja
Head of government: Hama Amadou
Death penalty: abolitionist in practice
International Criminal Court: ratified

In response to a mutiny by soldiers which was quelled in August, a presidential decree was issued which severely restricted freedom of expression. The decree led to the arrest of two journalists and two human rights defenders, but was invalidated by the Constitutional Court.

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Background


Government forces ended a mutiny by members of the armed forces, led by soldiers in the southeastern town of Diffa in August, after 10 days. The mutineers, who sought a pay increase, took several hostages, including a local civilian governor. This was the first mutiny since the election of President Tandja in 2000, which marked a return to civilian rule. A presidential decree which forbade the circulation of information which would "jeopardize" defence operations against the mutineers was ruled unconstitutional in September. In November, the government adopted a law creating a court martial to try the arrested mutineers.

Human rights defenders

Two human rights defenders were arrested and one was sentenced to imprisonment after expressing concern about the reaction of the security forces to the August mutiny.

• In August, Amina Balla Kalto, president of the Collectif d'organisations de défense des droits de l'homme (CODDH), an umbrella grouping of human rights bodies, was briefly arrested twice for criticizing the government's plan to try army mutineers before a court martial.
• Bagnou Bonkoukou, president of the Ligue nigérienne des droits de l'homme (LNDH), Niger League of Human Rights, was arrested and charged with "disseminating false information" in August. His organization had called for an independent inquiry into the deaths of those killed in the suppression of the mutiny. In September, Bagnou Bonkoukou was sentenced to one year's imprisonment. In November, he was granted a presidential pardon and was released.
• In a case not related to the mutiny, Morou Amadou, president of a human rights organization called Croisade, Crusade, was arrested in April in Birnin N'Gaoure. He had tried to settle a land dispute between two villages and was charged with contempt of court and "discrediting a judicial decision". In May, he was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment but was released in July after an appeal court dropped one of the charges.

Harassment of journalists

The August presidential decree led to the arrest of two journalists in August.

• Moussa Kaka, director of Radio Saraounya and a correspondent for Radio France International (RFI), was detained for 10 hours at the gendarmerie in Niamey and interrogated.
• Boulama Ligari, a reporter from a private radio station, Anfani, was arrested in Diffa and held for four days before being released without charge.

Detention without trial of students

Two students, Ousmane Abdelmoumine and Chaibou Issa, were still detained at the end of 2002. They were arrested in February 2001 following violent clashes between students and security forces in Niamey and charged with involvement in the violence, but were never brought to trial. In July, they went on hunger-strike and were hospitalized before being returned to prison.