Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso - Two prominent Burkinabè activists, Issa Zinaba and Ousmane Badjo, have been released after months of unlawful detention and forced conscription by the country’s military junta. Their release, confirmed by Balai Citoyen, a civil society association, marks a rare concession from the authorities amid a widening crackdown on dissent.
Zinaba and Badjo, both vocal critics of the military government, were initially notified of conscription orders in November 2023 alongside a dozen other journalists, activists, and opposition members. Despite a December 2023 court ruling deeming the conscription orders illegal,authorities arbitrarily detained the pair in February 2024.Balai Citoyen filed a complaint with police, but received no response. The activists subsequently appeared in state television videos in June and July 2024, appearing to endorse the military while wearing uniforms and holding weapons-a move widely seen as coerced.
The forced conscription and detention of Zinaba and Badjo are part of a broader pattern of repression targeting journalists, civil society activists, prosecutors, and judges in Burkina Faso. Human Rights watch has documented the disappearance of investigative journalist Serge Oulon and the detention of prominent lawyer Guy Hervé Kam, among others, on what are alleged to be fabricated charges.
While zinaba and Badjo’s release offers a glimmer of hope,concerns remain for the safety and well-being of other detained dissidents. The junta’s use of conscription as a tool to silence opposition raises serious questions about the state of civil liberties in Burkina Faso, a nation grappling with escalating security challenges and political instability. Authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all those arbitrarily detained and cease using conscription to suppress dissent, rights groups say.
