Updated: On September 15, an appeals court in Niger ordered the provisional release of detained transparency activist and PWYP member Marou Amadou.
Amadou, a member of Niger's Publish What You Pay (PWYP) coalition, was arrested on August 10, and following discharge by a Nigerien court, was seized by national security forces on August 12. For more than a month, Amadou was held in a high-security prison, despite his deteriorating health. The international PWYP coalition described the arrest as "part of a series of wider restrictions on freedom of expression which have seen threats to Nigerien civil society," including transparency activists and members of the press. On August 4, Niger caused an international outcry with a referendum that granted President Mamadou Tandja an additional three years in office beyond the limits of his two five-year terms.
On August 16, the civil society leadership within Niger's Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) announced their collective withdrawal from the process until the Nigerien government provides both a greater guarantee of safety and non-harassment of activists for good governance, and the unconditional release of detained transparency activist Marou Amadou.
Marie-Ange Kalenga of Publish What You Pay said that civil society's boycott of EITI is "another drop in the ocean of shame over what is happening in Niger. It's certainly going to add to the government's present embarrassment following the international condemnation over the constitutional referendum and the arrest of Marou Amadou."
In a statement released August 18, PWYP commended Nigerien civil society "for maintaining open dialogue with the authorities in Niger," despite the current controversy, and urged all EITI stakeholders "to take action in support of civil society concerns and help to ensure that the government of Niger reaffirms its commitment to the EITI principles and criteria guaranteeing free participation to civil society."
Kalenga added, "This will signal that EITI candidate countries are under scrutiny and need to uphold all the principles of the initiative, including the free and fair participation of civil society."
In a related incident of government harassment, Nigerien authorities recently sentenced newspaper publisher Abdoulaye Tiémogo to three months in prison for "discrediting a judicial decision" after publishing a July article on the international arrest warrant issued for former Prime Minister Hama Amadou.
LEARN MORE
- Niger: Marou Amadou Provisionally Released (Publish What You Pay)
- Revenue Watch and PWYP Demand Release of Niger Human Rights Activist
- Niger: Civil Society Declaration on Suspending Participation in Niger EITI | Français (Publish What You Pay)
- Niger: Civil Society Suspends Participation in National EITI Process (Publish What You Pay)
- Newspaper Publisher Gets Three Years in Jail for Criticizing Arrest Warrant (African Press Organization)
