West African court orders Niger's president to be released and reinstated nearly 5 months after coup

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A court of the West African regional bloc ordered the release and reinstatement of Niger's democratically elected president Friday, nearly five months after he was overthrown by mutinous soldiers.

The ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled that President Mohamed Bazoum and his family were arbitrarily detained and called for him to be restored to office, his legal team said in a statement.

Bazoum has been under house arrest with his wife and son since the July coup. The family hasn't been given access to a judge or informed of proceedings against them and have remained in their residence cut off from the world, with a doctor the only visitor, the president's lawyers said.

They said Friday's ruling was the first binding order from an international court on restoring Niger to democratic rule,.

The Court of Justice is the regional bloc's main judicial body. The court's decisions are not subject to appeal and are binding on all ECOWAS institutions, including the Conference of Heads of State, Parliament and Commission, and on all national courts of member nations.

Before Bazoum was forcibly removed from power, Niger was the West’s last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that Islamic extremist groups have turned into a global terror hot spot.

While ECOWAS has imposed strict economic and trade sanctions on Niger, it's struggled to get concessions from the ruling junta, which has refused to release or reinstate Bazoum.

West African heads of state on Sunday officially recognized the junta in power in Niger, but said their sanctions to reverse the July coup in the country would remain even as they initiate steps for a “short” period of transition to civilian rule.

It's unclear if Friday's ruling will yield any movement, but his lawyers say it adds pressure.

“It’s a stunning judicial victory for democracy and the rule of law," Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer who serves on Bazoum’s legal team, told The Associated Press. “It gives legal ammunition to those pressing for his full restoration.”