Burkina Faso’s authorities accused of secretly detaining investigative journalist

Burkina Faso’s military government has been secretly detaining and abusing a prominent journalist and dozens of others in an undisclosed makeshift facility in Ouagadougou, according to a report released Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders.

Atiana Serge Oulon, editor of the newspaper L’Evenement, was forcibly taken from his home in June 2024 by armed men in civilian clothes. While authorities later claimed he had been conscripted into military service, former detainees revealed to the advocacy group that Oulon was among up to 40 people held in a heavily guarded house in the capital as of late 2025.

Detainees described harrowing conditions, including sleeping on bare floors, being forced to drink water from toilets, and enduring beatings by guards using ropes and tree branches. The allegations directly contradict the government’s official statements about Oulon’s whereabouts.

“The conditions described by former detainees constitute clear human rights violations and appear to be part of a systematic approach to silence critical voices in the country,” a spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders told reporters in Dakar.

According to the advocacy group, Oulon had been targeted by the junta since 2022, when he published an investigation accusing a military captain of embezzlement. The organization has called for his immediate and unconditional release, noting that his current location remains unknown.

Reporters Without Borders said it had shared its findings with Burkina Faso’s government, which has not responded to the allegations. The report also indicated direct involvement from the highest levels of power, claiming that a security officer for junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré personally briefed detainees before their release, warning them against speaking about their experiences.

This case reflects a broader pattern of repression since the military seized power in Burkina Faso in September 2022. Under Traoré’s leadership, the junta has systematically targeted journalists, opposition figures, and civil society members who criticize the government.

The West African nation has shuttered independent media outlets and implemented a controversial practice of forcibly conscripting perceived dissidents into the army to fight against Islamic militants who control roughly half of the country’s territory.

“What we’re seeing is the weaponization of military service as a tool to silence legitimate criticism,” said a regional analyst who requested anonymity for security reasons. “Claiming someone has been conscripted provides a convenient cover for enforced disappearances.”

Human Rights Watch documented this escalating crackdown in an April report, stating that Traoré’s government has created “an atmosphere of terror” while severely restricting information flow in the country.

The situation in Burkina Faso mirrors similar authoritarian shifts in neighboring Mali and Niger, where military juntas have also seized power in recent years. All three countries have severed traditional security relationships with Western allies, particularly France, while developing closer ties with Russia.

Press freedom has dramatically deteriorated across the Sahel region, with Reporters Without Borders noting that Burkina Faso has fallen 39 places in its World Press Freedom Index since 2021.

Regional and international organizations have expressed growing concern about the human rights situation in Burkina Faso, but the junta has largely dismissed such criticisms as foreign interference.

The government maintains that extraordinary security measures are necessary to combat the jihadist insurgency that has killed thousands and displaced over two million people since 2015.

For journalists like Oulon, the price of speaking truth to power has become increasingly dangerous in a country that once boasted one of West Africa’s most vibrant media landscapes.