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A prominent lawyer and political figure in Burkina Faso, Hermann Yameogo, who was abducted over the weekend, has been released, members of his entourage told AFP on Monday.
A relative stated, “He was freed last night and is now with his family.” Another family member confirmed his release, noting that Yameogo had “undergone interrogation before being allowed to return to his family.”
According to his associates, Hermann Yameogo, who is 77 and suffers from health issues, was taken from his home in Ouagadougou by armed men in plainclothes. The abduction occurred just days after he published a tract critical of the country’s leadership.
Yameogo is the son of Maurice Yameogo, the first president of independent Burkina Faso—formerly known as Upper Volta—who served from 1959 to 1966.
The country has been under military rule since Captain Ibrahim Traoré took power in a coup in September 2022. The junta has faced allegations of abusing a general mobilisation decree—initially intended for combating Islamic militants—to silence critics, some of whom have reportedly been forcibly conscripted to the front lines.
Recently, the regime released eight individuals who had been forcibly drafted, including journalists, civil society figures, and associates of politicians. However, many others, including several military officers accused of “conspiracy” or “attempting to destabilise republican institutions,” remain unaccounted for.
