office without them even having to produce an engagement letter. This Community standard takes precedence over national laws, thereby strengthening the provisions of Article 71 of the Criminal Procedure Code which prescribed that a suspect is entitled to counsel as from the 24th hour of his placement in custody, failing which the proceedings shall be null and void. F. Freedom of Worship: Article 8 77. In the Republic of Niger, every citizen is free to practise a religion of his choice. Article 3 of the Constitution states that these fundamental principles include the separation of the State from religion. Article 8 paragraph 3 of the same Constitution provides that “the rule of law shall prevail in the Republic of Niger. It shall ensure the equality of all before the law irrespective of sex or social, racial, ethnic or religious origin. It shall respect and protect all beliefs. No religion or belief shall assume political power or interfere in the affairs of the State.” 78. Under Article 9, ethnic, regional or religious political parties are prohibited. No political party can be formed to promote an ethnic group, region or religion; non-compliance is punishable by the sanctions provided for by law. 79. The freedom of conscience and religion is established by Article 30 of the Constitution of 25 November 2010 which provides that “Everyone has the right to the freedom of thought, opinion, expression, conscience, religion and worship. The State shall ensure the freedom of worship and the expression of beliefs…” 80. With the development of fundamentalist and extremist ideologies against the backdrop of a sub-regional environment characterized by the appearance of terrorist organizations professing Islam, Niger has passed Law No. 2019-28 of 1 July 2019 on the modalities for the freedom of worship in the Republic of Niger in order to prevent certain excesses. This law is credited with providing our country with a general legal framework on worship to prevent the risks and slippages observed in other countries and laying down the principles for the monitoring of religious practices which are on the increase as a result of the development of religious faiths. 81. It should be noted that according to the report of the last general population census of 2012, Muslims account for 99% of the population. The current status of religious associations of all faiths in Niger is presented as follows: one hundred and five (105) Islamic associations, thirtyeight (38) Christian associations, two (2) animist associations and one (1) Baha’i association. 82. G. With regard to the status of religious edifices, the number stood at 29 Catholic churches in 2019, while the exact number of mosques, which is in the hundreds of thousands, is not known for both Friday prayers and daily prayers. In 2003, following the establishment of the Niger Islamic Council, there were 234 mosques in the city of Niamey alone. Freedom of Expression and Right to Information: Article 9 83. Since the presentation of the last report, the freedom of expression and right to information situation has made significant progress in Niger. Thus, several legislative measures have been taken by the authorities. In 2018, the National Assembly passed two (2) laws:  Law No. 2018-23 of 27 April 2018 on electronic communications. This law which abrogates Ordinance No. 93-31 of 30 March 1993 serves as an essential legal instrument to meet the imperatives of the technological, institutional and regulatory changes witnessed by the communications sector. This law is part of the implementation of the “adaptation of the legal and institutional framework” strategic pillar of the national strategy paper for the transition to Terrestrial Digital Television (TDT). This reform involves the various value chains (broadcast entity, content production, multiplex and other service offers). 28