Niger accused of instrumentalizing cybercrime law against dissenting voices

09 Mai 2020

Paris, France, May 9 (Infosplusgabon) - Amnesty International on Friday called on Nigerien authorities not to use the provisions of the cybercrime law to violate freedom of expression or for the arbitrary arrest and detention of dissidents and urged Niamey to criminalize all messages criticizing the measures against the Covid-19 pandemic.

"In the context of the current state of emergency in Niger in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many civil rights and freedoms have been restricted. Certain restrictions are permitted under international human rights law if they are legal, necessary and proportionate. But in no case can they criminalize any message criticizing the measures taken by the government issued on WhatsApp or Facebook," said Amnesty International on Friday, accusing the Niger government of having arrested ten people between March and April subject to article 31 of this law adopted in 2019.

Article 31 of the law on cybercrime condemns “the dissemination, production and making available to others of data which may disturb public order or which harm human dignity through an information system".

But the international organization stressed that the public prosecutor uses this law to muzzle dissenting voices, and not for the protection of public order or human dignity.

"These arbitrary arrests are part of a broader context of suffocation of critical voices in Niger with excessive use of force against actors in civil society. The charges against activists for collusion in damage to public property, arson attack and manslaughter were fabricated to undermine the peaceful exercise of their human rights and demand accountability," Amnesty International said.

The NGO, which called on the Nigerien government to release "immediately and unconditionally" all those arrested for exercising their right to freedom of expression, considered that article 31 was applied in an abusive and intrusive manner, by interfering in private conversations and bypassing the objective of the law.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/VVG/GABON2020

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