The European Parliament on Thursday adopted almost unanimously a resolution demanding the "immediate" release of Niger's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held captive in Niamey since the military coup in July 2023 and whose mandate will officially end in early April.

Elected in 2021, Mohamed Bazoum, aged 66, was overthrown by a military coup on July 26, 2023 and has been detained ever since alongside his wife in a wing of the presidential palace in Niamey, the capital of Niger.

524 MEPs voted on Thursday in favor of this non-binding resolution, tabled by the EPP group (right-wing) and other European parliamentary groups, strongly condemning the arbitrary detention of Mr. Bazoum. Two MEPs voted against and 29 abstained.

Niger has been ruled since the coup by the head of the junta, General Abdourahamane Tiani, but Mohamed Bazoum has consistently refused to resign. His term expires on April 2nd.

"Failing to secure his release before this date would constitute a serious failure," warned French MEP Christophe Gomart (EPP group), who initiated the text, on Wednesday evening in plenary session, considering it therefore an "emergency" resolution.

Furthermore, the text recalls that Mohamed Bazoum's presidential immunity was lifted in 2024 by the Nigerien justice system, and that the junta has "sworn to prosecute him for 'high treason', which can lead to the death penalty".

Members of the European Parliament are calling for the "immediate and unconditional" release of the presidential couple, about whom no verifiable information has been made public for over a year, they say. They report that the couple has no access to a lawyer, no family visits, and is receiving only limited medical care.

"It should be remembered that President Bazoum, who was democratically elected, was the main partner of European forces in the Sahel, contributing to the fight against Islamist terrorism, against arms trafficking, against human trafficking, and to regional stability," Christophe Gomart also stressed on Wednesday.

"We cannot remain silent any longer while a key European ally is imprisoned," he added.

In March 2025, the junta, which claims a sovereignist policy, extended its transition at the head of Niger for at least five years, a country plagued by deadly jihadist attacks that show no signs of abating.

She has consistently ignored the various calls for Mr. Bazoum's release.