JOHANNESBURG – Global civil society alliance CIVICUS urges the immediate release of journalist and human rights defender Samira Sabou who unidentified men arrested unlawfully from her home on 30 September. Nigerien authorities have not acknowledged her arrest, Samou’s whereabouts remain unknown and her family has been in the dark.
“We are extremely worried about Samira Sabou’s safety and demand her immediate release,” said David Kode, head of Advocacy and Campaigns at CIVICUS. “The lack of charges or even the most basic information on her location raises the spectre of the worst possible scenario. Niger’s authorities must ensure her safety and wellbeing and name and hold to account those behind the arrest.”
Sabou is a journalist and blogger who regularly covers human rights in Niger and the security situation in the Sahel region, and is President of the Association des Blogueurs pour une Citoyenneté Active (Association of Bloggers for Active Citizenship).
“Sabou’s arrest by unidentified men and the refusal of the authorities to acknowledge her detention or disclose her location for days is a frightening development in post-coup Niger,” said Kode. “This sets a dangerous precedent for the treatment of journalists under Niger’s new military leaders.”
Sabou has faced threats and intimidation for her social media commentary both before and after Niger’s July military coup. In June 2020, authorities detained her for over a month after she wrote about alleged corruption in the Nigerien Ministry of Defense. During that time, CIVICUS profiled her on its Stand As My Witness Campaign. This August, after the coup, a member of the military interrogated her by phone about a social media post of hers that included a message from deposed President Mohamed Bazoum.
“If Niger’s new military government wants to represent a real break from the past, it should ensure a safe and open environment for critics and dissenters,” said Kode. “By failing to account for Sabou’s whereabouts and safety, or even respond to inquiries about her, the military government sends a clear message that under its rule, Niger is not a place where citizens can freely report on issues affecting the state.”
The CIVICUS Monitor, which assesses civic space conditions worldwide, rates Niger as repressed, one step above its worst ranking, closed.
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CIVICUS is the global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society throughout the world. A worldwide community of informed, inspired, committed citizens engaged in confronting the challenges facing humanity. We were established in 1993 and since 2002 have been proudly headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with additional hubs across the globe. We are a membership alliance with more than 15,000 members in more than 175 countries.
