Members of Niger's presidential guard seized power in a coup late last month.
Seydou, head of the M62 group, had been behind bars for seven months in a case involving an army air strike on suspected jihadists in the south of the country.
"The Niamey Court of Appeal has cancelled the decision of the High Court... which had sentenced our comrade Abdoulaye Seydou to nine months in prison", said M62 secretary general Sanoussi Mahaman.
"We have always said that Abdoulaye Seydou's detention is an arbitrary decision... orchestrated from start to finish".
The M62 movement, set up a year ago, is a coalition of around 10 groups and NGOs opposed to the presence of French military forces in Niger.
In recent weeks, it has led calls for rallies to support officers who on July 26 toppled the country's elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.
Seydou was taken into custody in January and sentenced in April.
His group had accused the defence and security forces of massacring civilians in helicopter raids on an illegal gold mine last October, launched on the grounds that the alleged killers of two police officers had holed up there.
The government has acknowledged air strikes were carried out after two police were killed at Tamou, near the border with Burkina Faso.
It said seven people were killed and 24 wounded in the raids but the political opposition and civic groups say the death toll was much higher.
Niger regime vows to prosecute Bazoum for 'high treason'
Niamey, Niger (AFP) Aug 14, 2023 -
Niger's coup leaders that toppled Mohamed Bazoum said late Sunday they would "prosecute" the deposed president for "high treason" and "undermining the security" of the country.
The regime said it had gathered evidence that it would use "to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international bodies for high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger," according to a statement read out by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane on national television.
Bazoum has been held in his presidential residence along with his son and wife since the day of the coup.
Military leaders said they had not taken over Bazoum's residence and that he was still free to communicate with the outside world. Bazoum had received regular visits from his doctor, they said.
A consultation took place on Saturday, according to an adviser to the ousted president.
"After this visit, the doctor raised no problems regarding the state of health of the deposed president and members of his family," the military added.
The ousted leader has said he was being held "hostage" without electricity and had only rice and pasta to eat.
The generals also slammed the "illegal, inhumane and humiliating sanctions" imposed by West African regional bloc ECOWAS, which has suspended financial and commercial transactions with Niger.
Niger's regime said the sanctions were depriving the country of medicines, food and electricity.
Niger's junta says it has evidence to try ousted president for treason
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 13, 2023 -
Niger's military junta said it has enough evidence to prosecute Mohamed Bazoum, the West African nation's deposed president, on crimes of "high treason" and undermining the country's national and international security.
"The Nigerien government has to date gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international authorities for high treason and undermining internal and external security of Niger following its exchanges with nationals, foreign heads of state and heads of international organizations," the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Homeland said Sunday.
No evidence was detailed in the two-page press release that also denounces foreign and domestic efforts to criticize its July 26 coup, while stating it is implementing measures to mitigate the impact of "illegal" sanctions imposed on the country by West African nations following its arrest of Bazoum.
The CNSP seized control of the country in a coup that removed Niger's democratically elected government and arrested Bazoum, his family and other members of the government late last month.
The coup has been denounced by democratic allies, including the United States, and the Economic Community of West African States, of which Niger is one of 15 members, immediately imposed sanctions against Niamey over the action.
Late last week after the CNSP failed to heed an ECOWAS ultimatum to reinstate Niger's democratic government, ECOWAS ordered the deployment of its standby military force to restore constitutional order in the West African nation -- but has yet to act.
In its statement Sunday, the CNSP said with regard to Bazoum and those it has detained, it reaffirms its "desire to respect our laws and regulations as well as Niger's commitments in the field of human rights and in doing so to treat them with humanism in accordance with our traditional and religious values."
It added that the 63-year-old Bazoum, whose health in detention has raised concerns among his allies, receives regular visits from his doctor, most recently on Saturday.
"After this visit, the doctor did not raise any problem as to the state of health of the deposed president and the members of his family," it said.
Located in the turbulent Sahel, Niger, a country of some 25.4 million people, was one of the West's few democratic allies in the region, which has seen a handful of military coups in the last few years.
Sunday's announcement is expected to attract further concern and criticism from the United States and other countries, including France, Niger's former colonial ruler.
More than 1,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in Niger, making it home to the second-largest U.S. military presence in the continent. It has also been a top recipient of U.S. security assistance in Africa and a U.S. development aid recipient, according to a late July report from the U.S. Congressional Research Service.
Following the coup, the United States announced that it was suspending some aid to the country.
Inaugurated in 2021, Bazoum's presidency was Niger's first-ever transition between one president and another.
At least six African nations have fallen in military coups since 2020, including Niger and neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso.
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