Burkina Faso / Africa

  

Burkina Faso journalist Luc Pagbelguem says prime minister’s bodyguard attacked him

Dakar, June 13, 2022 – Burkina Faso authorities should investigate the recent attack on journalist Luc Pagbelguem and hold that person to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. On May 19, a member of Prime Minister Albert Ouédraogo’s security detail grabbed Pagbelguem, a reporter with privately owned TV station BF1, pulled him to…

Read More ›

TV5 Monde correspondent expelled from public meeting in Burkina Faso

Dakar, May 19, 2022 – Activists opposed to France’s influence in Africa should not scapegoat journalists attached to French-speaking international media, and authorities in Burkina Faso should ensure that all members of the press can report freely on public events, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday. Fanny Naoro-Kabré, a journalist for TV5 Monde, a…

Read More ›

Soldiers briefly hold 2 journalists reporting on run-up to Burkina Faso coup

New York, January 25, 2022 – Authorities in Burkina Faso should ensure that journalists can report freely, safely, and without fear of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Sunday, soldiers at the Sangoule Lamizana military camp in Ouagadougou, the capital, briefly held freelance reporter Henry Wilkins and Associated Press reporter Sam Mednick,…

Read More ›

Attacks on the press: The deadliest countries in 2021

By Jennifer Dunham/CPJ Deputy Editorial Director Published January 19, 2022 At least 28 journalists were killed due to their work in 2021, with India and Mexico topping the list of countries with the most media worker deaths, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ final data for the year. Of the total – which has…

Read More ›

In Burkina Faso, Spanish journalist killings underscore broader dangers to the press

The murder of Spanish reporters David Beriain and Roberto Fraile by unidentified attackers last week in eastern Burkina Faso was a tragic example of the dangerous working conditions for  journalists in the country, where the government has struggled to contain a rise in militant activity in recent years.   Beriain and Fraile were kidnapped along with Rory Young, an Irish conservation worker, from an anti-poaching convoy…

Read More ›

Spanish journalists David Beriain and Roberto Fraile killed in Burkina Faso

David Beriain and Roberto Fraile are killed after being abducted from a wildlife reserve in eastern Burkina Faso, where they were working on a documentary film, the Spanish government confirms. CPJ calls on the authorities to conduct a swift and thorough investigation. (Photo: AP/Sophie Garcia)

Read More ›

Burkina Faso's presidential palace is seen in Ouagadougou on March 20, 2019. The president and Constitutional Council have the power to prevent the enactment of revisions of the country's penal code that could result in jail time for reporters. (AFP/Olympia de Maismont)

Burkina Faso parliament passes legal revisions criminalizing false news, reporting on terrorism

New York, July 3, 2019 — Burkina Faso authorities should prevent the enactment of revisions of the penal code that criminalize false news and reporting on terrorism or security operations, and ensure laws do not permit jail time for reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Read More ›

Thousands of people demonstrate on December 13, 2014, in Ouagadougou to pay homage to murdered journalist Norbert Zongo. (AFP/Ouoba Ahmed)

Glimmer of hope in Norbert Zongo murder case in Burkina Faso

New York December 14, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the arrests on Saturday of three people in Burkina Faso in connection with the 1998 murder of Norbert Zongo, editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper L’Independant.

Read More ›

Residents protest over the coup in Ouagadougou in September. With many radio stations silenced during the unrest, pirate station Radio Resistance was a vital resource for news. (Reuters/Joe Penney)

Resistance over the airwaves: Pirate station’s vital role during Burkina Faso coup

Radio Resistance was a pirate radio station born out of necessity. During Burkina Faso’s short-lived military coup last month, in which many local radio stations were forced off air, it kept citizens informed and gave them the courage to stand up against the attempted takeover, Burkinabe journalists said.

Read More ›

Radio station burned down in Burkina Faso

Abuja, August 27, 2015–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an arson attack on the independent Radio Manegmoogo in Burkina Faso on Monday and calls on authorities to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. The attack comes in the run-up to elections scheduled in October in a country that spent almost three decades under the authoritarian rule…

Read More ›