Amnesty international urges immediate release of nigerien journalist samira sabou

Responding to the alarming forced disappearance of Samira Sabou, a prominent Nigerien journalist and blogger, who was abducted from her home on September 30 by masked individuals claiming to be security service members, Ousmane Diallo, a Sahel researcher for Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa regional office, issued a strong statement:

We are deeply concerned by the forced disappearance of Samira Sabou and urgently call upon the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) to immediately disclose her whereabouts and ensure her swift and unconditional release. If authorities genuinely lack knowledge of her detention location, they must launch an immediate investigation to ascertain it. Each passing day constitutes a further violation of Samira Sabou’s fundamental rights to liberty and a fair trial, simultaneously exposing her to the grave risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment.

Ousmane Diallo, Sahel Researcher at Amnesty International’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa

Samira Sabou is a devoted activist, fiercely advocating for human rights and actively exposing corruption. It is highly probable that her forced disappearance is directly linked to her robust activism and her recent condemnations of arbitrary arrests carried out by the CNSP.

“Niger has ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Forced Disappearance. We implore the CNSP to uphold its human rights obligations under both national and international law, which include prohibiting forced disappearances and safeguarding the rights to freedom of expression and press freedom. We also demand that they respect and protect human rights defenders, whose rights are guaranteed by Articles 4, 6, and 7 of the June 2022 law on the rights and duties of human rights defenders, as well as by international legal frameworks.”

Additional Details

Samira Sabou holds multiple roles as a journalist, activist, and president of Niger’s bloggers’ association. On September 30, 2023, she was apprehended at her mother’s residence in Niamey by several masked men who presented themselves as members of the security forces. These individuals displayed their professional identification cards and insisted that Samira accompany them into a vehicle, where she was blindfolded and driven to an undisclosed location, unknown to her family or legal counsel. Neither her family nor her lawyer has been able to communicate with her since her arrest, nor ascertain her whereabouts. The Niamey police’s criminal investigation department also claims to have no knowledge of her case.

This incident follows other recent infringements against individuals merely exercising their right to freedom of expression.

For instance, on October 3, Samira Ibrahim, a social media user also known as “Precious Mimi,” received a six-month suspended prison sentence and a 300,000 CFA franc (approximately 479 USD) fine for “producing data likely to disturb public order.” Her charges stemmed from a Facebook post where she referenced Algeria’s refusal to acknowledge Niger’s new government.