Niger’s navy authorities has banned many native and overseas reporters since seizing energy in 2023.
Media watchdog Reporters With out Borders (RSF) has condemned Niger’s suspension of 9 French media publications because the navy authorities continues to crack down on journalists.
Niger introduced the suspension on Friday, citing “repeated dissemination of content material prone to critically jeopardise public order, nationwide unity, social cohesion, and the steadiness of the establishments of the Republic”.
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The suspended organisations are France 24, RFI (Radio France Internationale), France Afrique Media, LSI Africa, AFP (Agence France-Presse), TV5 Monde, TF1 Data, Jeune Afrique and Mediapart, based on a TV assertion from the Nationwide Communication Observatory (ONC).
It added that the choice was “rapid” and it included “satellite tv for pc packages, cable networks, digital platforms, web sites and cell purposes”.
RSF described the choice as “abusive”.
“RSF condemns a coordinated technique to repress press freedom inside the AES [Alliance of Sahel States] and requires the rapid reversal of this abusive determination,” stated a press release posted on X, referring to Niger and allies Mali and Burkina Faso, all dominated by navy governments.
Niger’s navy seized energy in July 2023, toppling the democratically elected authorities of President Mohamed Bazoum and detaining him.
The federal government has since focused native and overseas media retailers, notably these important of its insurance policies, by issuing bans or suspensions.
RFI and France 24 had been suspended just a few days after the coup, and the BBC from Britain was suspended in December 2024.
The concentrating on of French and different overseas media comes as Niger’s navy authorities has largely severed ties with its former colonial energy, France, and turned away from Western allies.
In late 2023, Niger requested leaders in Paris to withdraw 1000’s of troops concerned in missions towards armed teams working in Niger, neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso.
The three AES states have since secured defence partnerships with different nations, notably Russia.
All three have repeatedly denounced France’s “imperialism”, saying they wish to assert their “sovereignty”. French media and different overseas retailers have equally been suspended or banned by the governments in Bamako and Ouagadougou.
Native journalists have additionally been affected. Two Nigerien journalists, Gazali Abdou, a correspondent for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and Hassane Zada, a regional newspaper editor, had been launched this week after being detained for months.
In 2024, leaders within the capital Niamey strengthened a regulation that criminalises the digital dissemination of “knowledge prone to disturb public order”.
The United Nations stated in November that 13 journalists had been arrested in Niger and urged the federal government to launch them. Native media organisations say six journalists are detained for allegedly “undermining nationwide defence” and for “conspiracy towards the authority of the state”.
In keeping with AFP, Niger suspended almost 3,000 native and overseas NGOs in 2025, accusing them of missing transparency and supporting “terrorists” and armed teams.
Niger dropped 37 locations on this yr’s RSF World Press Freedom Index and now ranks a hundred and twentieth out of 180 nations. RSF and Amnesty Worldwide have repeatedly voiced considerations concerning the “decline” in press freedom in Niger.
