Salem Mohamed had been detained, along with his father and others, by Niger’s coup leaders since July 26
Niger’s military court has granted a provisional release from house arrest to Salem Mohamed, the son of the West African country’s ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum. The decision was announced in a statement by the tribunal on Monday.
Salem, 23, has been in detention at the presidential palace with his parents since his father, Bazoum, was overthrown in a military coup in late July. The coup leaders indicted him, along with the deposed president, on charges of conspiracy to undermine Niger’s authority and security.
His release is the result of negotiations between the Nigerien military rulers and Togo’s president, Faure Gnassingbe, according to a statement issued by the Togolese government, which has been mediating the political situation in Niger since the coup.
According to a source close to the ousted president cited by AFP, Salem arrived in the Togolese capital, Lome, on Monday evening after leaving Niamey earlier.
Niger’s new rulers, who have claimed that the military takeover was in response to the Bazoum government’s failure to combat Islamist terrorists in the Sahel region despite the presence of foreign troops, including those from France, have faced pressure to release the leader and his family, as well as other detained officials.
The military government previously accused Bazoum of attempting to flee from custody with his family to neighboring Nigeria with the assistance of a “foreign power.”
The West African regional authority, ECOWAS, imposed severe sanctions on Niamey, with Western partners, including the US, Germany, and France, also suspending aid to the former French colony.