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Three journalists detained earlier this week in Burkina Faso were released on Wednesday, while two others remain in the custody of intelligence agents, their respective media outlets confirmed to AFP.
The arrests are the latest in a series of crackdowns under the military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a September 2022 coup.
The regime has faced growing accusations of suppressing dissent through intimidation, arbitrary detention, and the forced conscription of critics to fight jihadist insurgents.
Recently, authorities have freed around a dozen individuals who were reportedly abducted and compelled to join frontline forces, including journalists, civil society activists, and relatives of opposition figures.
However, a new wave of detentions began earlier this month, reigniting fears of renewed repression.
The private daily Aujourd’hui described as “good news” the release of its publishing director, Zowenmanogo Dieudonné Zoungrana, who was taken from his home on Tuesday by agents of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR).
The paper confirmed he has “regained his freedom.” Similarly, L’Observateur Paalga reported that its editorial director, Ousseni Ilboudo, had been freed after being detained on Monday at the newspaper’s offices. A third journalist, Michel Nana, who was arrested early Monday, has also been released.
However, two journalists — Lamine Traoré, founder of the online outlet Burkina Yawana, and Jean-Marie Toé, editor-in-chief of the state newspaper Sidwaya — remain in ANR custody after being questioned late Tuesday, according to AFP sources.
Toé and Zoungrana were among those who participated in an interview last month with Captain Traoré to mark the third anniversary of his coup.
While there has been no official comment on the detentions, sources close to the junta have suggested that authorities are investigating the leak of material from that interview, which was reportedly shared with an outlet critical of the military before its scheduled broadcast on national television on September 28.
Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise within Burkina Faso’s institutions. Three appeals court magistrates have been missing since Friday and are believed to have been abducted, a judicial source told AFP.
