Lawyers for Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s ousted president, are demanding his immediate release, three years after he was overthrown and detained by the army, Africanews reported. Elected in 2021, Bazoum and his wife, Hadiza, have been held in a wing of the presidential palace in Niamey since the July 2023 coup.

An international group of lawyers says Bazoum is being detained arbitrarily, having never been brought before a magistrate or informed of any proceedings against him, according to U.S. human rights lawyer Reed Brody. ‘They have never been brought before a magistrate and have not been informed of any case against them,’ Brody said.

Months after the coup, the military leaders, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, said they intended to put Bazoum on trial. He was accused of treason and of ‘plotting against the security and authority of the state,’ but to this day no case has been publicly opened.

The lawyers also report that Bazoum and his wife have had little or no contact with the outside world, receiving no family visits over the past three years. The European Union, United Nations experts and several international leaders have also called for his release. Although his mandate officially ended in April this year, Bazoum refuses to resign.

Niger’s new rulers are overseeing a crackdown on dissent, jailing journalists, activists and civil society figures.