Un expert of the united nations calls for immediate release of Niger activist

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued a powerful call for the immediate release of Nigerien human rights defender Moussa Tiangari, declaring his detention unlawful and demanding urgent compliance from Nigerien authorities.

On 8 July 2026, the UN body released its opinion (Opinion No. 4/2026), issued on 23 March 2026 and made public on 23 June 2026, which unequivocally condemns the prolonged incarceration of Mr. Tiangari as arbitrary. This follows a formal complaint lodged by the International League Against Arbitrary Detention (ILAAD), combined with sustained advocacy from civil society organizations, including the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, which has repeatedly demanded his unconditional release.

a timeline of persecution and legal abuse

Moussa Tiangari, Secretary-General of Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC)—a Nigerien NGO dedicated to human rights, migrant rights, and democratic values—was forcibly abducted from his home in Niamey on 3 December 2024. He was held incommunicado for approximately 48 hours, raising grave concerns of torture and ill-treatment. On 5 December 2024, he was located at the headquarters of the Central Service for the Fight Against Terrorism and Organized Transnational Crime (SCLCT/CTO) in Niamey, where he was placed under arrest. He was formally charged by the investigating judge of the High Court of Niamey on 3 January 2025.

His arrest coincided with his return from Abuja, Nigeria, where he had attended a board meeting of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), of which AEC is a partner. Just days earlier, he had traveled to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to participate in the seventh edition of the Itinerant Humanitarian conference on 28 November 2024, organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. The event focused on challenges facing humanitarian action and the importance of upholding international humanitarian law. Shortly after, a journalist aligned with Nigerien authorities accused him in a 4 December 2024 article of making statements harmful to Niger’s interests during the conference.

AEC had also organized a critical conference on 28 November 2024 addressing the revocation of nationality decreed by Niger’s military regime, which included participation from the Niamey High Court prosecutor and former high-ranking officials, including a former Minister of Justice.

why the un ruled the detention was arbitrary

In its opinion, the UN Working Group concluded that Moussa Tiangari’s detention is arbitrary due to:

• Lack of legal basis for his detention
• Severe violations of his right to a fair trial
• Discriminatory motives tied to his exercise of freedom of expression, public participation, peaceful assembly, and association

The Group found violations of multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, and 21, and Articles 2, 9, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 25, and 26, respectively.

Despite the UN’s clear ruling, Tiangari remains imprisoned at the Filingué Security Prison. He faces charges including:

• Apology for terrorism (Article 399.1.17(bis) of the Nigerien Penal Code)
• Undermining state security (Articles 62 and following)
• Criminal association linked to a terrorist enterprise (Article 399.1.19, new)
• Undermining national defense (Articles 66 and following)
• Conspiracy against state authority in intelligence with enemy powers (Articles 62 and following)

If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

On 15 May 2026, Niamey’s specialized appeals chamber rejected his request for provisional release, despite provisions in Ordinance No. 2026-10 of 16 February 2026, which limits pretrial detention in terrorism cases to 12 months—renewable once. Tiangari has been detained for over a year and a half. His legal team filed a motion on 19 June 2026 urging his release. However, on 26 June 2026, the same court retroactively amended Article 615, extending maximum pretrial detention in criminal cases to four years—renewable once. His lawyers warn this change may have been enacted to justify continued detention.

This is not the first time Moussa Tiangari has faced arbitrary detention. In May 2015, he was detained for 10 days and charged with undermining national defense and demoralizing troops over reports published by AEC. In March 2018, he was arrested again and held for four months on charges of participating in an unauthorized protest, complicity in violence and destruction during anti-budget demonstrations. In March 2020, he was detained for a month and a half following an anti-corruption protest denouncing embezzlement in military procurement.

a growing crackdown on dissent in Niger

Moussa Tiangari’s case reflects a broader pattern of repression since the 27 July 2023 coup. Civic space in Niger has dramatically shrunk, with repeated violations of fundamental rights—freedom of expression, opinion, association, assembly, and protest—through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and nationality revocations targeting human rights defenders.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders urges Nigerien authorities to:

• Comply immediately with the UN opinion by releasing Moussa Tiangari without conditions
• Drop all charges against him
• Ensure his right to reparations
• Conduct an independent and thorough investigation into his arbitrary detention and allegations of torture
• Stop all forms of judicial harassment against him and other human rights defenders

The Observatory stresses that Niger must uphold its international obligations—particularly under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights—by guaranteeing freedom of expression in all circumstances.