Journalists and activists illegally conscripted in Burkina Faso finally freed
The government of Burkina Faso has recently taken a positive step by releasing five journalists and one human rights activist who were forcibly conscripted into the military after criticizing the ruling junta. While this release is a welcome development, it also brings to light the plight of others still unaccounted for, with some having vanished as early as 2024 without any trace.
On March 24, 2024, authorities in Ouagadougou, the nation’s capital, apprehended Guezouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba, and Phil Roland Zongo—three prominent members of the Association des journalistes du Burkina (AJB)—alongside Luc Pagbelguem, a journalist from the private television channel BF1. Their crime? Publicly challenging the junta’s media crackdown. By April 2, a disturbing video surfaced on social media, showing Sanogo, Ouoba, and Pagbelguem in military attire, confirming their forced enlistment. Zongo’s conscription, however, was only disclosed upon his release.
The pattern of forced disappearances continued on June 18, 2024, when Kalifara Séré, a commentator for BF1 TV, vanished after a meeting with officials from the Conseil supérieur de la communication (CSC)—the media regulatory body. Séré had previously questioned the authenticity of state-promoted images featuring the head of state. In October 2024, authorities admitted he had been conscripted, alongside two other journalists, Serge Oulon and Adama Bayala. The whereabouts of Oulon and Bayala remain unknown.
In another case, Lamine Ouattara, a member of the Mouvement burkinabè des droits de l’homme et des peuples (MBDHP), was abducted from his home by plainclothes intelligence officers on November 29, 2023. His relatives later confirmed his illegal conscription.
Human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch have documented how the junta exploits emergency laws to silence dissent. Journalists, human rights defenders, and even magistrates have been targeted, with conscription serving as a punitive tool to suppress opposition. While governments have the right to conscript civilians for national defense, the process must adhere to transparency and due process—including clear communication of service duration and avenues for appeal.
The Burkinabè authorities must take immediate action to free all remaining detainees held under such unlawful circumstances and halt the misuse of conscription to stifle free speech and dissent.
