President toppled in Niger coup loses immunity

Mohamed Bazoum and his wife Hadiza, pictured in 2021, have been held since last July

A democratically elected president who was kicked out of power by the military a year ago should now lose his immunity from prosecution, Niger's top court has ruled.

That decision by the newly created body clears the way for Mohamed Bazoum, 64, to be tried by a military court.

He and his wife Hadiza have been detained in the president palace without a telephone since the coup last July.

Since then, Niger's new military leaders have brought in drastic policy changes - including severing defence and diplomatic ties with former colonial power France and pivoting towards Russia.

The ruling junta in the capital, Niamey, has been legally empowered to prosecute him on charges of treason, undermining national security and financing terrorism.

Mr Bazoum's lawyers have called the process a "travesty" and withdrew from a hearing last week.

They say they have not been able to meet their client face to face.

"I don't even know if President Bazoum is aware of the lifting of his immunity," the former president's communications adviser Hamid N'Gade told the AFP news agency.

"We only get news about him from his doctor who sees him twice a week. No-one knows how he is coping psychologically," he added.

More stories about the Niger coup from the BBC:

• Inside coup-hit Niger: 'France takes us for idiots'

• Niger coup makes the troubled Sahel region yet more fragile

• The rise of military coups in Africa

• Why young Africans are celebrating military takeovers

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

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