Burkina Faso: RSF condemns three new cases of forced military conscription as number of journalists punitively drafted rises to six in less than a year
Abducted over ten days ago by individuals claiming to be intelligence officers, journalists Guezouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba and Luc Pagbelguem reappeared in an online video released on 2 April. Their families had no news of their fate or whereabouts until the video showed the journalists in military attire stating they were "covering the reality" on the ground. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) strongly condemns these forced conscriptions and demands the journalists’ immediate release.
Wearing military uniforms and with shaved heads, Burkinabé journalists Guezouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba, and Luc Pagbelguem reappeared online after more than ten days of detention in an unknown location. None of their families had any information about the journalists since their arrest until a widely-shared video was posted on Wednesday, 2 April by pro-junta social media accounts, showing them in what appears to be a military zone. In the video, Boukari Ouoba says he "appreciates" the "opportunity" to "cover the reality on the ground," but acknowledges he arrived "under particular conditions." Guezouma Sanogo, meanwhile, remains silent. The reporters’ family members, friends and colleagues confirmed their identities in the video when contacted by RSF.
This staged performance by the junta — from the kidnapping to the video, which was clearly made under duress — is as brutal as it is alarming. It is clearly a message intended to intimidate the entire profession and foster self-censorship. Forcing journalists to relay state propaganda under duress is an unacceptable violation of press freedom, revealing a regime unable to tolerate criticism. These new forced conscriptions bring the total number of media professionals affected to six in less than a year. RSF strongly condemns this retaliatory measure aimed at silencing these journalists and demands their immediate release.
On 24 March, individuals claiming to be intelligence service police officers arrested Guezouma Sanogo, newly elected president of the Burkina Faso Journalists Association (AJB) and journalist at Radio Television of Burkina (RTB), and Boukari Ouoba, investigative journalist and vice president of the AJB, in Ouagadougou, the capital. On the same day, Luc Pagbelguem, a journalist for private TV channel BF1, was also detained by "two agents from the National Security Council" (CNS), according to his employer.
All three had shared or relayed information about the AJB congress, held three days earlier, during which the association denounced the unprecedented violations of freedom of expression and press freedom since the junta took power. During the AJB congress, Guezouma Sanogo had also called for the release of four journalists and columnists who had been abducted and forcibly conscripted since the beginning of 2024.
Increasing repression against journalists critical of the regime
These new forced conscriptions bring the total number of media professionals forced into the military to six in less than a year. On 24 October 2024, the Burkinabè authorities officially acknowledged the conscription of Serge Oulon, editor-in-chief of the newspaper L'Événement, and columnists Adama Bayala and Kalifara Séré of private TV channel BF1. However, they continue to refuse to comment on the fate or whereabouts of Alain Traoré, also known as Alain Alain, a columnist for the press group Omega Media. Guezouma Sanogo also mentioned the disappearances of Bienvenu Apiou, James Yazid Dembélé, and Mamadou Ali Compaoré at the AJB congress.
In another tactic to silence reporters, independent journalist Abdoulaye Barry, also known as Newton Ahmed Barry, was placed on a list of 32 individuals "wanted for association with a terrorist organisation" by Burkinabè security services on 1 April.
