On November 2, judicial police in Niamey arrested six journalists, an action that represents a clear violation of the right to press freedom. Three of these media professionals have been placed in arbitrary detention. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), acting through the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, strongly denounce this judicial harassment and urge the authorities in Niger to release them immediately and without conditions.
The journalists targeted include Moussa Kaka, director of Radio-télévision Saraounia (RTS) and former RFI correspondent; Abdoul Aziz Idé, a journalist at RTS; Ibro Chaibou, editorial secretary at RTS; Youssouf Seriba, director of the site “Échos du Niger”; Oumarou Kané, founder of the satirical weekly “Le Hérisson”; and Souleymane Brah, director of “La voix du peuple.” They have been charged with “complicity in the dissemination of information likely to disturb public order” under Article 31 of the 2019 Cybercrime Law, as amended by the June 2024 ordinance. They face potential prison sentences ranging from two to five years.
On November 3, 2025, an investigating judge ordered that Ibro Chaibou, Youssouf Seriba, and Oumarou Kané be held at the Kollo high-security prison, located south of the capital. While Moussa Kaka, Abdoul Aziz Idé, and Souleymane Brah were released on bail after lengthy interrogations, the charges against them remain active.
Groundless accusations and intimidation
The legal proceedings were triggered by the social media publication of an invitation for RTS to cover a press briefing by the “Solidarity Fund for the Safeguarding of the Fatherland” (FSSP). This body was established by the military government to collect funds from citizens and NGOs to support the army. The charges also relate to a debate held on the “club de la presse” program on October 31, 2025.
The Observatory maintains that discussing or publishing a press invitation does not violate any law and certainly does not constitute a threat to public order. These prosecutions appear to be a strategy to intimidate journalists and silence the media in Niger, violating international standards such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
A pattern of systemic repression
This is not the first time Moussa Kaka has faced such pressure; he was previously imprisoned in 2007 under a different administration for his journalistic work. Furthermore, RFI, his former employer, was banned in Niger in August 2023. These recent arrests occur within a context of shrinking civic space following the July 2023 coup d’état.
The crackdown on dissent has led to the arbitrary detention of several activists and media workers, including Moussa Tchangari, who has been held for nearly a year. Other cases include Hamid Mahmoud and Mahaman Sani from Sahara FM in Agadez, who were arrested in May 2025 for relaying information about international cooperation. They were later charged with “undermining national defense” and remain in custody at Kollo prison.
Demands for legal reform and release
The Observatory calls upon the government of Niger to drop all charges against these eight individuals and to secure the immediate release of those still behind bars. There is also an urgent need to revise the cybercrime legislation, specifically the June 2024 ordinance which restored prison terms for defamation and the dissemination of data deemed disruptive. Human rights groups previously warned that these laws could be used as tools to suppress journalists and human rights defenders.