Mathieu Punch, an employee of the organization Acting together for human rights, is one of the five people arrested Friday in Niamey. NGOs see it a link with manifestations against the passage of a French military convoy in the country, two weeks ago.
Le Monde with AFP
Eleven international NGOs asked on Saturday 11 December, the release of five actors of civil society, including a Frenchman, arrested in Niamey, Niger, in the margins of the celebration of the International Day of Human Rights, which took place the day before. It aimed to “raise awareness among Niamey people on respect for fundamental rights and the benefits of a democratic system”.
These organizations specify, In a communiqué , after the start of the caravan of the association’s seat Tourons the page (TLP) Niger in Niamey , the police arrested fifteen activists, including “four were interviewed and placed in custody at the Central Commissariat of Niamey”, where “they will spend the night for unauthorized crowd”. These four Nigerian activists, who are part of TLP Niger, are Armadan Moussa, Biliyaminou Idi, Mubarak Habou and Hima Hamani.
The fifth person arrested, Mathieu Punch, is a French organization of the organization act together for human rights. Also charged with the protection and advocacy for the TLP International Secretariat in Niamey, he “was not part of the caravan trees” and was “arrested in town by four plainclothes police when he circulated to motorcycle”, noted these NGO.
“The four members of TLP and Mathieu Punch are always kept in the police ‘premises,” said at the beginning of the evening at the Agence France-Press (AFP) Maikul Zodi, National Coordinator of the TLP Movement. “Other people, including taxi drivers and journalists, have been released,” he said.
“The” Barkhane “force” Barkhane “”
The signatories of the statement “call the authorities of Niger” including “release immediately” the persons arrested and “put an end to any practice of harassment against members of civil society”.
NGOs specify that “these events are part of a context of strong tension between Tourons The Niger page, supported by many civil society organizations in Niger, and the Nigerian government”.
Organizations are related to incidents that took place at the end of November during the passage, in West Nigerian, a French military convoy going to Gao, Mali. Since “the clashes of Tera (3 dead and 18 wounded during a confrontation between citizens and a convoy of the French army supported by the Nigerian gendarmerie), TLP requires justice and requests to demonstrate to denounce the insecurity and the ‘Barkhane’ force in the country “, advance the press release. “In view of the consequences for TLP, it seems obvious that the Nigerian state considers this subject as a red line”, is it still written.
Nigerian Justice has prohibited a protest planned on Sunday, December 5th by TLP in Niamey to protest and request the departure of Western military bases, including French, present in Niger as part of the anti-jihadist control.
The operation “Barkhane”, the end of which was announced in June by Emmanuel Macron and who is being withdrawn, consisted, since 2014, to deploy French military forces at the Sahel to fight against the jihadist threat In this region.