ABIDJAN: Respected Nigerien journalist Moussa Kaka has been “forcibly disappeared” in the west African country, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, urging the ruling junta to reveal his whereabouts.

Since taking power in a 2023 coup, Niger’s military rulers have been frequently accused of a clampdown on the opposition and muzzling press freedom by rights groups.

Various media watchdogs and NGOs have sounded the alarm over the fate of Kaka, the 66-year-old director of the independent Radio Television Saraounia broadcaster, since his disappearance on August 31.

His detention came just days after an army mutiny, thwarted with the help of Niger’s Russian allies, shook the military government, with fierce clashes breaking out across various key sites around the capital Niamey.

“Two months after Moussa Kaka vanished in Niger, the authorities have yet to provide his location or explain his detention,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior Sahel researcher at HRW.

“Niger’s authorities should immediately account for Kaka and free him if he hasn’t been fairly charged,” Allegrozzi added, urging foreign governments to pressure the junta for his release.