The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), operating under the umbrella of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, have expressed strong approval for the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s conclusion regarding the unlawful nature of Nigerien human rights defender Moussa Tiangari’s detention. Both organizations are now urging Nigerien authorities to promptly adhere to this finding by ensuring his immediate and unconditional liberation.
July 8, 2026. The Observatory commends Opinion No. 4/2026, adopted on March 23, 2026, and publicly released on June 23, 2026, by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD). This opinion unequivocally labels Mr. Moussa Tiangari’s deprivation of liberty as “arbitrary.” The WGAD’s decision follows a formal complaint submitted by the International League Against Arbitrary Detention (ILAAD) and significant, sustained advocacy from civil society, including repeated calls for his immediate release by the Observatory itself.
On December 3, 2024, Moussa Tiangari, who serves as the Secretary General of Alternative espaces citoyens (AEC) – a Nigerien organization dedicated to human rights, migrant rights, and democratic values – was forcibly taken from his residence in Niamey. He was subsequently held incommunicado for approximately 48 hours, a period that raised serious concerns about potential torture and ill-treatment. By December 5, 2024, Mr. Tiangari was located at the Central Service for Combating Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime (SCLCT/CTO) in Niamey, where he had been placed in police custody. He was formally indicted by the senior investigating judge of the Niamey High Court on January 3, 2025.
His arrest coincided with his return to Abuja, Nigeria, where he had participated in a board meeting for the Nigerian organization Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), with which AEC is a partner. Just days prior, he had traveled to Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to attend the seventh edition of the international conference “Humanitarium Itinérant.” Organized by the ICRC on November 28, 2024, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, this event aimed to highlight challenges facing humanitarian action and the critical importance of upholding international humanitarian law. A journalist, known for close ties to Nigerien authorities, published an article on December 4, 2024, accusing Mr. Tiangari of making statements detrimental to Niger’s interests during these engagements. Furthermore, AEC had also organized a critical conference on November 28, 2024, addressing the military regime’s decision to revoke nationality, an event attended by the Public Prosecutor of the Niamey High Court and former dignitaries, including a former Minister of Justice.
In its official opinion, the Working Group determined that Moussa Tiangari’s detention is arbitrary because it lacks any legal basis, is marred by severe infringements on his right to a fair trial, and was imposed for discriminatory reasons directly linked to his exercise of freedom of opinion and expression on matters of public interest, his right to participate in public affairs, and his right to peaceful assembly and association. The WGAD therefore concluded that Nigerien authorities violated Articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Articles 2, 9, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 25, and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Observatory strongly condemns the continued arbitrary detention of Moussa Tiangari at Filingué maximum-security prison, despite the unambiguous conclusions reached by the WGAD. He stands accused of serious offenses, including “apology for terrorism” (Article 399.1.17 (bis) of the Nigerien Penal Code), “endangering state security” (Articles 62 et seq. of the same Code), “criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise” (Article 399.1.19 (new) of the same Code), “undermining national defense” (Articles 66 et seq. of the same Code), and “conspiracy against state authority in collusion with enemy powers” (Articles 62 et seq. of the same Code). If convicted, he faces the ultimate penalty: death.
Most recently, on May 15, 2026, the control chamber of the specialized anti-terrorism and transnational organized crime division of the Niamey Court of Appeal rejected his request for provisional release. This decision disregards Article 615 of Ordinance No. 2026-10, dated February 16, 2026, which established the code of criminal procedure and stipulates that “the duration of provisional detention in terrorism matters […] cannot exceed twelve months, renewable once in criminal cases.” This provision should have facilitated Mr. Tiangari’s release, given he has been detained for one and a half years. While his legal team petitioned the specialized control chamber of the Niamey Court of Appeal on June 19, 2026, to order his release, Ordinance No. 2026-35, enacted on June 26, 2026, retroactively amended Article 615, extending the maximum duration of provisional detention to four years in criminal matters, renewable once. Mr. Tiangari’s collective of lawyers recently raised serious concerns about the potential instrumentalization of the criminal procedure code to prolong their client’s detention.
This is not the first instance of Moussa Tiangari’s arbitrary detention. He has been subjected to prolonged judicial harassment due to his peaceful human rights advocacy. In May 2015, he endured arbitrary detention for 10 days and faced prosecution for “undermining national defense” and “statements likely to demoralize troops,” charges linked to reports published by AEC. On March 25, 2018, Mr. Tiangari was again arrested and arbitrarily held for four months, then prosecuted for “organizing and participating in a prohibited demonstration” and “complicity in violence, assault, and destruction of property” for his involvement in peaceful protests against the 2018 finance law. In March 2020, Moussa Tiangari was once more arrested and arbitrarily detained for a month and a half in connection with an anti-corruption demonstration that exposed embezzlement in the procurement of military equipment.
More broadly, Mr. Tiangari’s plight is indicative of a wider trend in Niger since the coup d’état of July 27, 2023. This period has been characterized by a severe constriction of civic space and repeated assaults on the fundamental rights of civil society and all dissenting voices. Rights to freedom of expression, opinion, association, assembly, and protest have been systematically violated, notably through arbitrary arrests, detentions, and the denationalization of human rights defenders.
The Observatory urgently calls upon Nigerien authorities to comply with the WGAD’s opinion by immediately and unconditionally releasing human rights defender Moussa Tiangari. This must be accompanied by the dropping of all charges against him, the provision of appropriate reparations, and the initiation of a thorough and independent investigation into the circumstances of his arbitrary deprivation of liberty, with a view to identifying and sanctioning those responsible. The Observatory further insists that an investigation must also be conducted into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment suffered by Moussa Tiangari.
Finally, Niger must cease all acts of harassment, including judicial persecution, against Moussa Tiangari and all other human rights defenders within the country. Authorities are particularly obligated to ensure, under all circumstances, respect for the right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by international human rights law, specifically Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which Niger is a State Party.
