(Nairobi) \u2013\u00a0Niger\u2019s military junta has entrenched authoritarian rule, dismantled democratic institutions, and intensified repression since seizing power three years ago, Human Rights Watch said today.
On July 26, 2023, Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani and other Nigerien army officers\u00a0overthrew the elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum. Since then, the junta\u00a0has consolidated sweeping and unchecked powers, systematically\u00a0weakening institutions capable of holding the military authorities to account. In the past year, the military authorities have\u00a0dissolved all political parties and\u00a0several independent unions,\u00a0suspended dozens of civil society groups,\u00a0detained journalists under a\u00a0broad cybercrime law,\u00a0stripped political opponents of their nationality,\u00a0criminalized consensual same-sex relations, announced Niger\u2019s\u00a0withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), and\u00a0prolonged the country\u2019s political transition without any roadmap toward democratic elections.
\u201cThree years after the coup, Niger\u2019s junta has broadened its assault on human rights,\u201d said\u00a0Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe military leaders have expanded their own authority while closing civic space and shutting off pathways to justice for victims.\u201d
The junta continues to arbitrarily detain\u00a0former President Bazoum, his wife, the former Interior Minister\u00a0Hama Amadou Souley, and\u00a0Moussa Tiangari, a prominent human rights defender. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in opinions issued in February 2025 and May 2026, found that the detentions of both\u00a0Bazoum and\u00a0Tiangari were arbitrary, in violation of international human rights law, and called on authorities to release them.
In March, the junta adopted a new criminal procedure code setting pretrial detention in terrorism cases at 12 months, renewable once. As Tiangari has been detained since December 2024 on terrorism-related charges, his lawyers\u00a0filed an application for his release with the court of appeal on June 19. Although the law requires the court to rule within three days, no decision was issued. A week later, the authorities amended the law, extending the maximum pretrial detention period to four years, renewable once.
\u201cThe coincidence is too serious to be ignored,\u201d Hamid Amadou N\u2019gad\u00e9, former communication adviser to President Bazoum, said on social media. \u201cA justice system worthy of the name doesn\u2019t change the rules to keep a citizen in prison.\u201d Tiangari\u2019s lawyers contend that the revised provision cannot be applied retroactively to justify his continued detention.
The military authorities have also taken a series of actions that restrict media freedom and civic space. They have targeted journalists for\u00a0reporting on or\u00a0sharing matters of public interest under sweeping cybercrime legislation. In October 2025, police in Niamey, the capital,\u00a0arrested the journalists Moussa Kaka, Abdoul Aziz Id\u00e9, Ibro Chaibou, Souleymane Brah, Youssouf Seriba, and Oumarou Kan\u00e9 after they shared on social media an invitation to a media briefing about a solidarity fund to raise money for the state security forces. The authorities charged them with \u201ccomplicity in distributing documents likely to disturb public order\u201d under the cybercrime law. In November, a court\u00a0released Kaka, Id\u00e9, and Brah on bail, and retained Chaibou, Seriba, and Kan\u00e9 in custody, ordering their transfer to Kollo prison, outside Niamey. Seriba and Kan\u00e9\u00a0were released on July 15, while Chaibou remains in detention. The cybercrime law, which the junta\u00a0amended in 2024, reintroduced prison sentences and fines for broadly defined public order offenses.
The\u00a0African Charter on Human and Peoples\u2019 Rights and the\u00a0International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which Niger ratified in 1986, guarantee the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.
The authorities have also sought to suppress criticism beyond Niger\u2019s borders. Since late 2024, the authorities temporarily stripped at least 18 exiled opposition figures of their Nigerien citizenship based on a\u00a02024 order that created a national database of people suspected of terrorism. In June 2026, the authorities revoked the Nigerien citizenship of\u00a0Mariama Djibrine, president of a\u00a0coalition of Nigerien, Malian, and Burkinab\u00e8 diaspora opposition groups advocating for a return to constitutional rule in the three Sahel countries. That month, the foreign affairs minister\u00a0instructed Nigerien diplomatic missions to monitor online criticism of the military authorities, signaling an effort to discourage the diaspora from discussing the country\u2019s human rights situation.
In March, Niger\u00a0adopted a new penal code that punishes consensual same-sex relations and broadly defined Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) practices with 5 to 10 years in prison and heavy fines. Same-sex marriage is also punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison, and the same penalties apply to people who facilitate, support, finance, organize, or participate in organizations and events for LGBT people.
International media reported that in June, security forces\u00a0detained at least 16 people, including senior police officers, under the revised legislation. In Niger, where LGBT people already face\u00a0stigma and\u00a0discrimination, the criminalization of same-sex conduct is already having consequences far beyond the courtroom. Several community health workers told Human Rights Watch they have suspended outreach and support activities for men who have sex with men due to fears of harassment or abuse. The junta\u2019s criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct contravenes its obligations under regional and international human rights law.
The security situation in the country\u00a0has continued to deteriorate. Islamist armed groups linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State\u00a0have repeatedly carried out deadly attacks against civilians\u00a0in the western Tillab\u00e9ri region. Niger\u2019s security forces have responded with abusive counterinsurgency operations. In January, a Nigerien military drone strike\u00a0killed at least 17 civilians at a crowded market in western Niger in violation of laws-of-war\u00a0prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks.
Niger\u2019s\u00a0withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States in 2025, coupled with the\u00a0withdrawal from the ICC in June, reflects a broader effort by the junta to restrict avenues for regional and international accountability.
International engagement with Niger\u2019s military authorities has often come at the expense of human rights. Some governments including\u00a0the United States,\u00a0Russia,\u00a0T\u00fcrkiye, and\u00a0Italy have prioritized security cooperation without conditioning assistance on adequate human rights benchmarks, despite the junta\u2019s worsening abuses.
The UN has not consistently denounced human rights violations by Niger\u2019s military authorities. As the UN reviews its approach to the Sahel region, including through the\u00a0assessment commissioned by Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), UN member states should ensure that accountability and protecting human rights are central pillars of any future UNOWAS engagement with Niger, Human Rights Watch said.
\u201cNiger\u2019s international partners need to reengage to address the junta\u2019s escalating repression in the pursuit of security,\u201d Allegrozzi said. \u201cThey should press the authorities to respect fundamental rights, release those arbitrarily detained, stop targeting political opponents and critics, and set out a credible path to civilian rule.\u201d
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