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(Nairobi)– Burkina Faso Burmese authorities should urgently investigate and publicly report the whereabouts of a journalist and two prominent critics of Burmese military junta, Human Rights Watch said today.
The abductions of Serge Olone, director of the investigative newspaper Adama Bayala, and TV commentator Khalifalah Seré, since June 18, have raised concerns about enforced disappearances and possible illegal conscription. Their cases appear to be linked to a wave of repression by the Burkina Faso authorities, which has severely restricted the rights of activists, journalists, opposition party members and dissidents.
“Arbitrary arrests, kidnappings and enforced disappearances of journalists, activists and dissidents have become the new normal in Burkina Faso.” Ilaria AllegrozziSenior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The junta should take immediate action to locate and report on the three missing persons, or release them if they have been wrongly detained.”
Adama Bayala, 45, is a regular commentator on the private TV station BF1 News Echo He has been missing since leaving his office at 1,200 Logements neighbourhood in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou, at around 1pm on June 28.
A few days before Bayala disappeared, a message was posted on a pro-junta Facebook page Anonymous Elite Alpha Threatening him, warning him that “he’s next.” The message referred to previous kidnappings of journalists and dissidents.
“Bayara was one of the few remaining dissidents in Burkina Faso and he was ruthless in criticizing the decisions and actions of the military authorities,” said one of his close friends. “The day he was kidnapped, we talked about the risks he faced. We knew he was in danger.”
At 5 a.m. on June 24, at least nine gunmen in plain clothes attacked Kidnapped Serge Olone, 39, editor-in-chief of the bimonthly magazine Events, was arrested at his home in Ouagadougou. “They first entered in two unmarked civilian vehicles, took Serge away and drove away,” Olone’s brother said. “Later, they returned to Serge’s home and ordered his wife to hand over Serge’s mobile phone and laptop. They claimed to be from the intelligence services.”
In December 2022, Oulon wrote article Condemns an army captain for allegedly misappropriating around 400 million CFA francs ($660,000) from the budget of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie), the civilian auxiliary of the Burkina Faso armed forces. On June 20, 2024, the Burkina Faso media regulator, the High Council of Communications (Conseil supérieur de la communication), said: pause The newspaper was banned for a month after it published another article involving an alleged corruption scandal.
On June 18, Kalifa Séré, BFI TV critic 7 InformationSeré reportedly disappeared after leaving a meeting with the Supreme Communications Council and returning to his office in Ouagadougou. Seré’s close associates told Human Rights Watch that the council questioned him about his June 16 televised comments in which he questioned the authenticity of some photographs of heads of state. Announcement of suspension of 7 Information Two weeks.
On June 24, 11 media organizations in Burkina Faso condemn The kidnapping of Olone and Serre “is proof that the press in Burkina Faso is being subjected to harassment and intimidation … in flagrant violation of the law,” he said, calling on the authorities to “put an end to these actions that could undermine the public’s right to know.”
Relatives and lawyers for Bayara, Olon and Serre said they had searched for them at various police stations and gendarmerie stations to no avail. The authorities have not yet released any information about their whereabouts.
“Journalists in Burkina Faso should not have to live in fear of being kidnapped for their work,” said a Burkinabe journalist who asked not to be named for security reasons. “By targeting journalists, the authorities have succeeded in reducing public access to information of interest to almost zero, limiting their ability to hold powerful actors accountable.”
The abductions of Bayala, Olone and Seré come amid growing reports of intimidation, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and illegal conscription of journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and dissidents by Burkina Faso security forces.
In February, Human Rights Watch Reported There were six other cases of abduction of activists and opposition party members, including Rasmané Zinaba and Bassirou Badjo, both members of the opposition party. Civilized Society Guy Hervé Kam, a prominent lawyer and coordinator of the political group “To Serve and Not To Be Served”; Ablassé Ouédraogo, president of the opposition party Le Faso Autre (Alternative Faso); Daouda Diallo, a prominent human rights activist and secretary-general of the Organization Against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities (CISC); and Lamine Ouattara, a member of the Movement for Human and Peoples’ Rights in Burkina Faso (Movement for Human and People’s Rights in Burkina Faso). At least four of them appear to have been illegally recruited.
While governments have the right to conscript civilians over the age of 18 for national defense, conscription should be authorized and in accordance with domestic law. Conscription laws should be enforced in a way that potential conscripts are informed of the duration of their service and have ample opportunity to contest the requirement to serve at that time. Conscription should also be conducted in accordance with standards consistent with non-discrimination and equal protection of the law. Politically motivated conscription violates international standards of human rights protection.
Burkina Faso is a member of the Enforced disappearanceAn enforced disappearance occurs when a government official or his or her agents arrest or detain a person, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or to disclose the person’s circumstances or whereabouts. Families of people who have been enforced disappeared live in uncertainty, not knowing whether their loved ones are safe or what has happened to them while they are in captivity.
Since the September 2022 military coup, the military junta has continued to suppress media freedom and access to information. In April 2024, Burkina Faso’s media regulator suspended French news network TV5 and Other media Media banned for two weeks after covering Human Rights Watch story Report Discover the military’s commitment Crimes against humanity Targeting civilians in Yatenga province. The regulator also Blocked The country’s Human Rights Watch website.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, headquartered in Banjul, Gambia, held four regular sessions between August 2023 and June 2024 but failed to adopt a resolution on the deteriorating human rights situation in Burkina Faso.
“The African Commission should break its inexplicable silence on the Burkina Faso military junta’s deepening attacks on press freedom,” Allegrozzi said. “The Commission should urgently issue a resolution calling on the military authorities to uphold the rights of journalists and critics in accordance with their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
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