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Anti-Slavery International denounces the decision to refuse bail
for two of Niger's most respected and leading anti-slavery activists,
Ilguilas Weila and Alassane Biga. They were refused bail for a second
time yesterday, after more than two weeks in prison.
Tomorrow, Thursday 19 May, a popular demonstration expressing lack
of confidence in the judicial process and calling for an independent
and impartial judiciary is due to take place in the capital Niamey.
The protest was fuelled by the arrests of the activists on 28 April.
Ilguilas Weila, president of Timidria, Niger's pioneering anti-slavery
organisation and 2004 Anti-Slavery Award winner, and his colleague
Alassane Biga are charged with illegally soliciting funds from an
international organisation based in London, which we understand
to mean Anti-Slavery International and as such view this charge
as unfounded and baseless.
"Anti-Slavery International demands the immediate and unconditional
release of Ilguilas Weila and Alassane Biga; we are very concerned
for their welfare and categorically refute the charges against them.
The Government's actions appear to be a concerted campaign not only
to discredit their reputation and the work of Timidria, but also
to silence efforts to end slavery in the country," Romana
Cacchioli, Anti-Slavery International Africa Programme Officer,
said.
According to a recent report by the Government's National Human
Rights Commission, it has recommended that Timidria be disbanded
and its assets handed over to the Government; this would be a serious
blow to the fight against slavery -- a subject that is regarded
as taboo in Niger.
At least 43,000 people are in slavery across Niger. They are born
into an established slave class and are made to carry out all labour
required by their masters without pay, including herding, cleaning,
moving their master's tent to ensure he and his family are always
in shade. The masters do nothing. Slaves are inherited, given as
gifts and babies may be taken away from their mothers once weaned.
They are denied all rights and choice.
In May 2004 a new law came into effect making practising slavery
punishable by up to 30 years in prison. The Government's move was
in response to the publication of the first national survey of slavery,
which was jointly carried out by Timidria and Anti-Slavery International,
the world's oldest international human rights organisation. The
report established the extent and countrywide existence of slavery,
having interviewed over 11,000 people, most of whom were found to
be in slavery.
The charges against Weila and Biga relate to the planned but failed
attempt to release 7,000 slaves in a ceremony in In Atès,
a remote area near the Niger-Malian border, in early March 2005.
In a ceremony announcing slavery to be a criminal offence, the authorities
warned slave masters not to release their slaves officially, stating
that if they did, they would be subject to up to 30 years in prison.
Timidria and others also reported government intimidation, preventing
slaves from attending the ceremony. Since then, the Government has
declared there is no slavery in Niger.
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