West Africa: 616 Days in Pre-Trial Detention, the Case of Activist Moussa Tchangari

What the report says

According to a Media Foundation for West Africa press release distributed by AllAfrica, Nigerien activist Moussa Tchangari has spent 616 days in pre-trial detention at Filingue Prison in Niger’s Tillaberi region. Tchangari is the secretary general of Alternative Espaces Citoyens, a civil society organization, and his case has drawn concern from rights advocates over the length and circumstances of his detention.

The report says Tchangari was taken on December 3, 2024, by four unidentified armed men in front of his wife and children. His phone, laptop and suitcase were seized, and no reason was given at the time. Two days later, lawyers located him at Niger’s Central Unit for Counter-Terrorism and Cross-Border Crime Control. The detention followed his return from a conference in Côte d’Ivoire organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross to mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, where he had participated as a panelist.

On January 3, 2025, he was brought before an investigating judge and placed in pre-trial detention on charges including glorifying terrorism, conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, undermining state security and national defense, and conspiring against state authority. MFWA says the prolonged detention raises concerns about compliance with national and international human rights standards.

The report also cites a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finding, adopted in March 2026 and made public in May, that described the detention as arbitrary and called for his immediate release. MFWA urged Nigerien authorities to free him, drop the charges and protect his rights.