Burkina Faso Releases Journalists Forcibly Conscripted
**24 Daily News, Ouagadougou** – Burkina Faso has freed five journalists and a human rights activist who were forcibly conscripted into the military after criticizing the ruling junta, a move widely condemned as an assault on press freedom, 24 Daily News reports.
The journalists—Guezouma Sanogo, Boukari Ouoba, Phil Roland Zongo, and Luc Pagbelguem—were detained in March 2024 after denouncing escalating restrictions on free expression under the military regime. A video released in April 2024 showed them in military uniforms, confirming fears of conscription as punishment.
While the July 2025 release is a relief, concerns persist over others still missing. Among them is Kalifara Séré, a TV commentator who disappeared after being summoned by Burkina Faso’s media regulator in June 2024 for questioning the authenticity of official photos of the junta leader. Authorities later confirmed his conscription, along with two fellow journalists, Serge Oulon and Adama Bayala, whose fates remain unknown.
In a separate incident, Lamine Ouattara, a human rights defender from the Burkinabè Movement for Human and Peoples’ Rights, was abducted in November 2023 by men claiming to be from the national intelligence agency. He too was later confirmed to have been drafted.
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According to Human Rights Watch, the junta has invoked an expansive emergency law to conscript dissenters, including journalists, civil society members, and even magistrates, as a strategy to silence opposition. While governments can call civilians to service in times of crisis, international standards require transparency and fair procedures—including proper notice and a chance to contest conscription.
Rights groups are urging Burkina Faso to immediately release all remaining unlawfully conscripted individuals and to end the abuse of military conscription as a tool of repression.
