Dakar, July 16, 2024— Burkinabe authorities should immediately and comprehensively investigate the disappearance of columnist Alain Traoré after armed men in masks claiming to be agents of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) took Traoré, a satirical columnist for the private radio station Omega, from his home in the capital of Ouagadougou on July 13.
Three other journalists—Serge Atiana Oulon, Kalifara Séré, and Adama Bayala—have been missing since late June after separately disappearing under suspicious circumstances.
“The Burkinabe authorities must urgently investigate and halt the series of suspicious disappearances of journalists, ensure their safety, and hold accountable those involved in these chilling incidents,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, in New York. “The fact that Alain Traoré was taken by men introducing themselves as working for security forces heightens the urgency for Burkina Faso’s leadership to set the record straight and return him to his home and newsroom.”
On July 11, an administrative court in Ouagadougou reversed a June 19 decision by media regulator, the Superior Council for Communication (CSC), to suspend publication of L’Evènement, the newspaper where Oulon serves as publishing director. The court also ordered the regulator to pay the outlet 500,000 West African francs (US$831) in damages.
CPJ’s calls and messages to Gildas Ouédraogo, director of communications for the CSC, and to government spokesperson Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo went unanswered.