“The daughter of the Nigerien President, Mohamed Bazoum, expresses the demand for the ‘release’ of her father in an open letter published by Le Figaro on Tuesday, August 22, 2023.
In three days, it will be a month since the Nigerien junta ousted the President of Niger from power. Since July 26th, he, his wife, and their son have lost their freedom of movement. Faced with this, Zazia Bazoum Mohamed appeals to the global community to set them free.
In mid-August, Zazia Bazoum Mohamed had already filed a complaint with the British newspaper The Guardian. At the time of the coup in Niger, she was on vacation in France and criticized the detention conditions of her family, which she deemed ‘inhumane.’
In Le Figaro, Zazia Bazoum Mohamed expresses her gratitude to those who responded to her initial plea; thanks to them, ‘the family doctor is allowed to visit them occasionally and provide them with some food.’ According to her, the electricity meter is deliberately kept turned off. Her father, mother, and brother are ‘confined to a concrete residence where temperatures can exceed 40 degrees (and) they are often deprived of water to wash or freshen up.’
Finally, the President’s daughter regards the military members of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) as ‘hostage-takers’ and criticizes the actions of General Tiani, the leader of the CNSP. ‘The hostage-takers are already in contact with Wagner in Mali. […] We must secure the return of Mohamed Bazoum as the President of the Republic.’ She concluded.”
