Coup leaders ‘will prosecute Niger’s deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for high treason’
- The announcement came hours after the mutinous officers said they were open to dialogue with West African nations to resolve the regional crisis
- If convicted, Mohamed Bazoum – who is accused of undermining state security – could face the death penalty, according to Niger’s penal code
The military junta that seized power in Niger said it plans to prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state security, an announcement that came hours after the mutinous officers said they were open to dialogue with West African nations to resolve the regional crisis.
If convicted, Bazoum could face the death penalty, according to Niger’s penal code.
A spokesman for the junta, Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, said on state television that the military regime had “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute before competent national and international authorities the ousted president and his local and foreign accomplices.”
The Sunday night announcement said Bazoum was being charged following his post-coup exchanges with high-ranking West African politicians and “their international mentors”, whom the leaders of the revolt accuse of making false allegations and attempting to derail a peaceful transition to justify a military intervention.
The statement did not identify specific foreign nations and did not specify a date for the trial of Niger’s democratically elected president.
Still, on the streets of the capital on Monday, some residents told Associated Press they believed Bazoum was guilty. “Crimes for high treason is really what he deserves because this man betrayed Niger by stealing all of Niger’s resources,” Niamey resident Assan Zakite said.
“We are incredibly dismayed by reports that President Bazoum’s unjust detention has gone even a step further,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
