The latest blow to media freedom in Burkina Faso comes as the country’s transitional military authorities expelled two female journalists, Agnès Faivre and Sophie Douce, who work for the French newspapers *Libération* and *Le Monde*. Both journalists held valid visas and accreditation. On 31 March, national intelligence officers summoned and questioned them about their reporting in Ouagadougou, then gave them 24 hours to leave the country without providing any reason for the expulsion.
*Libération* called the decision “unjustified,” linking it to its 27 March report on a video allegedly filmed at a military base in Ouahigouya, Yatenga province, which showed bodies of children on the ground and men in apparent Burkinabé military uniforms. *Le Monde* described the evictions as “unacceptable” and condemned “in the strongest terms this arbitrary decision.”
The expulsions are the latest assault on speech and media freedoms in Burkina Faso. They follow the 27 March suspension of the French international television news network France 24 and the 3 December 2022 suspension of the French international radio news network Radio France Internationale (RFI), both accused by the Burkinabé government of broadcasting false reports. “The junta is doing irreparable damage to freedom of expression in the country,” said Daouda Diallo, a prominent Burkinabé human‑rights activist and 2022 Martin Ennals award laureate. “Journalism is not a crime and should stop being a risky job in Burkina Faso.”
Journalists and media organisations in Burkina Faso, both local and international, face increasing harassment, threats and arbitrary arrests in an undisguised effort by the military junta to muzzle independent and critical reporting. As the country grapples with armed conflict against Islamist groups, journalists should be able to work freely, without fear of reprisals. The transitional military authorities should reverse their decision and allow Faivre and Douce back into the country, and more importantly, remove the barriers that hinder journalists’ essential work of informing and educating the Burkinabé people.
Carine Kaneza Nantulya, Deputy Africa Director.
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