Burkina Faso’s press freedom faces severe repression after journalists’ abductions

Press freedom in Burkina Faso is experiencing increasing repression, with the kidnapping of two journalists occurring just days after they publicly criticized the junta’s control over the media. International organizations are calling for their immediate release, labeling the detentions as part of a wider attempt to silence dissenting voices.

International journalists’ associations strongly condemned on Tuesday the abduction of two Burkina Faso journalists, demanding their immediate release. The two were picked up just three days after they sharply criticized the deteriorating state of the country’s media landscape, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Individuals claiming to be members of Burkina Faso’s intelligence service arrested Guezouma Sanogo and Boukari Ouoba, journalists and directors of the Association of Journalists of Burkina Faso (AJB). 

Luc Pagbelguem, a journalist with the private BF1 channel, was also detained on Monday afternoon. He was taken by “two agents of the National Security Council,” his media outlet reported.

The arrests coincided with Burkina Faso’s interim President Ibrahim Traoré’s statement, in which he elaborated on the “war on communications,” and warned that “imperialists may use it to set fire” to the country.

Sanogo, re-elected as AJB president last Friday, also serves as a journalist for Radio Télévision du Burkina (RTB). During the association’s extraordinary congress, he condemned the junta’s “total stranglehold” on the country’s public media, which he said had been transformed into propaganda tools. The AJB also described the attacks on freedom of expression and the press since the junta took power as “unprecedented.”

Sanogo and Ouoba—an investigative journalist and AJB vice-president—were arrested at the Norbert Zongo National Press Centre in Ouagadougou, the capital, and taken to an unknown location.

“The arrest of journalists Guezouma Sanogo and Boukari Ouoba, three days after their association publicly condemned the deteriorating press freedom in Burkina Faso, is part of a strategy to systematically silence all critical voices in the country,” said Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF Sub-Saharana Africa.

He noted that the tactics used in this case mirror the numerous arrests and kidnappings orchestrated by the military authorities since taking power.

“The war effort promoted by the head of the Burkinabe junta, Ibrahim Traoré, is once again being used to destroy journalism in Burkina Faso,” Marong said, calling on the authorities to “make the fate and whereabouts of these two AJB leaders public and to release them without delay.”

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) also condemned the abduction and arbitrary detention of Sanogo and Ouoba “in the strongest possible terms.”

“It is completely intolerable that journalistic leaders are being persecuted, harassed, and illegally detained simply for representing their colleagues and defending the principles of independent journalism,” said Omar Faruk Osman, FAJ President.

Anthony Bellanger, IFJ General Secretary, called on Burkinabe authorities to “end their repressive campaign against journalists, guarantee the safety and physical integrity of the detained leaders, and respect their international commitments on freedom of expression and freedom of association.”

Reaffirming their unwavering solidarity with the AJB and the journalistic community in Burkina Faso, the IFJ and FAJ urged all African journalists’ unions, the broader continental trade union movement, and international press freedom organizations to raise their voices and “mobilize in defense of these two unjustly detained journalists.”

RSF warned that the media landscape in Burkina Faso has significantly shrunk since the transitional government assumed power after the coups of January and September 2022, worsening the environment for journalism and access to diverse news sources.

“The “patriotic treatment” of news and information dear to Capt. Ibrahim Traoré, the transitional president, is gradually taking precedence over the possibility of rigorous journalistic reporting,” according to RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, which places the African country at a low 86th place.

The “patriotic treatment” of news and information, favored by Capt. Traoré, the transitional president, is increasingly taking precedence over rigorous journalistic reporting, according to RSF’s World Press Freedom Index. This shift has led to the suspension of about 15 foreign and local media outlets since December 2022.