The ousted president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, held in his residence since the coup d’état on July 26, received “a visit from his doctor,” one of his close friends told AFP, when there is growing international concern about his health.
Bazoum “received a visit from his doctor today”, who “also brought him something to eat”, as well as his son and his wife, who were being held with him, the relative indicated. The president “is fine, considering the situation,” he added.
Representatives of international organizations and countries allied with Niger until the coup expressed concern over Bazoum’s health and detention conditions in recent days.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, pointed to “credible reports indicating that [Bazoum’s] detention conditions amount to inhuman and degrading treatment.”
The chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, denounced Bazoum’s “deteriorating conditions of detention.”
And the head of European Union (EU) diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also pointed to reports that Bazoum and his family have been “deprived of food, electricity and medical care for several days.”
The NGO Human Rights Watch, which was able to contact Bazoum, said that he described his conditions of detention as “inhumane and cruel” and that he had been deprived of electricity since August 2 and of all human contact for a week.
One of the leader’s relatives told AFP that the military that took power threatened to kill Bazoum in the event of foreign intervention.
A summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) ordered Thursday to mobilize a “reserve force” to restore constitutional order in Niger.
