It has been 616 days since Moussa Tchangari, an activist and secretary general of the civil society group Alternative Espaces Citoyens, was detained at the Filingue Prison in the Tilaberi region of Niger.
On December 3, 2024, Tchangari was taken away by four unidentified armed men in the presence of his wife and children. His mobile phone, laptop and suitcase were also seized. No reason for the arrest was given at the time.
Two days later Tchangari’s lawyers found him at the Central Unit for Counter-Terrorism and Cross-Border Crime Control (Service Central de Lutte Contre le Térrorisme et la Criminalité Transfrontalière).
His arrest came five days after returning from an international conference in Côte d’Ivoire, organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross to mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, in which he participated as panellist.
On January 3, 2025, Tchangari was brought before the investigating judge of the court of first instance and placed in pre-trial detention after being charged on five counts: glorification of terrorism, conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, undermining state security, undermining national defense, and conspiracy against state authority in intelligence with enemy powers under Articles 399.1.17, 19, 62 – 65, and 78 – 84 of the Nigerien Criminal Code.
The serious nature of the charges against Moussa Tchangari and his 19 months pre-trial detention raises serious concerns regarding compliance with national and international human rights standards.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, report adopted on March 23, 2026, and made public on May 5, 2026, found Moussa Tchangari’s detention arbitrary and recommended his immediate release in light of all the circumstances of the case.
The information gathered by the Working Group regarding the circumstances of Tchangari’s arrest and detention confirms a significant lack of legal basis.
According to the report of the working group, his arrest took place without a warrant and without his relatives being informed of the reasons for his detention. Also, Tchangari was detained for two days at an undisclosed location, during which he was unable to see his lawyers or family.
The grave criminal charges leveled against Tchangari cannot be used to justify the deprivation of his liberty because he’s a fierce critic of the military government. The lack of legal basis for his continuous detention violates the provisions of a number of international instruments, particularly Articles 9 and 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all of which Niger has ratified.
The continued detention of Moussa Tchangari, constitutes a serious violation of both domestic legal standards and Niger’s international human rights obligations. It underlines a pattern of arbitrary deprivation of liberty of critical voices in Niger.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns the prolonged detention of Moussa Tchangari and calls on the authorities in Niger to immediately and unconditionally release him, drop all charges, and ensure that his fundamental rights are fully respected.
