LONDON - Responding to the news that Niger activist Sadat Illiya Dan Malam who spent 19 months behind bars is released from prison, Kiné-Fatim Diop, Amnesty International West Africa Campaigner said:

“The release of Sadat Illiya Dan Malam is a welcome news and we are delighted that he will now be reunited with his family and friends after spending 19 months in jail.

“While he can now enjoy his freedom, he should have never been arrested in the first place. All he was doing was voicing his concerns over the alleged devastating effects of the new finance law, taxes and austerity measures on small traders and low-income households. The fact that he was charged with insurrection and conspiracy against state security is absurd.

“Now that he is free, this is an opportunity for the Niger authorities to stop their persecution of human rights defenders and activists who continue to be harassed, intimidated and arbitrarily arrested for standing up for the rights of some of country’s poorest people.”