Niger's ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, who has been held in detention since a July 26 coup, must be freed immediately, the court of the West African bloc, ECOWAS, ordered on Friday.
The court called for his "immediate and unconditional release" and ordered that Bazoum be reinstated, according to the judge in the case heard in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
Niger is currently suspended from the Economic Community of West African States after the presidential guard overthrew Bazoum and put him and his family in detention.
"It is Mohamed Bazoum who represents the state of Niger... he remains president of the republic," the court ruling said.
'Rights violated'
"There are constitutional rights that have been violated."
Bazoum has been held in his presidential residence with his wife and their son since he was overthrown.
Niger's military rulers did not immediately respond to the ruling. Other member states have, in the past, ignored rulings from the ECOWAS court.
In mid-September, the deposed president appealed to the ECOWAS Court of Justice to obtain his release and the restoration of constitutional order in the country.
"The decisions of the court are not subject to any appeal," Bazoum’s collective of lawyers said in a statement sent to AFP.
'Violated constitution'
According to Seydou Diagne, one of Bazoum's lawyers, the court "for the first time convicted military authorities who with their coup d'état violated the principles of the constitution of ECOWAS".
"It is the responsibility of ECOWAS and its member states to ensure that this court decision is effectively applied," the lawyers' statement said.
ECOWAS on Thursday announced that Niger was now suspended from all of its "decision-making bodies" until constitutional order is restored.
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