Between 10 and 14 October 2025, a series of arrests in Ouagadougou targeted journalists and judges, raising concerns about due process and the protection of fundamental freedoms in Burkina Faso. The arrests were reportedly carried out without transparent communication from the Burkina Faso authorities.
On 13 October, Ousséni Ilboudo, editorial director of the daily newspaper L’Observateur Paalga, was arrested in the morning by individuals identifying themselves as members of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR). According to his media outlet, Ilboudo was preparing to chair an editorial meeting when he was approached inside the newspaper’s premises and taken away in a van to an undisclosed location. No official information was immediately provided regarding his whereabouts.
The same day, Michel Wendpouiré Nana, associate editor at Éditions Le Pays, was reportedly arrested while attending an editorial meeting. His relatives indicated that he was taken to an unknown location and that no official communication was made to the family following his arrest. Two other journalists, Lamine Traoré, founder of the online media outlet Burkina Yawana, and Jean-Marie Toé, editor-in-chief of the state-owned daily Sidwaya, were also arrested on 13 October under the same conditions.
According to several sources who spoke to the Media Foundation for West Africa under anonymity, these arrests are reportedly linked to the leak of an interview granted by Ibrahim Traoré to journalists in late September, the content of which had circulated on a page critical of the regime before its official release.
On 14 October, Zowenmanogo Dieudonné Zoungrana, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Aujourd’hui au Faso, was arrested in Ouagadougou by intelligence agents. The reasons for his arrest were not publicly disclosed.
The developments extended beyond the media sector. On 10 October, Judge Urbain Méda, known for presiding over the trial concerning the assassination of former President Thomas Sankara, was reportedly abducted. On 11 October, Seydou Sanou, a judge at the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal, was reported missing.
The following day, 12 October, another judge of the same court, Benoît Zoungrana, was reportedly abducted by unidentified individuals. Lawyer Arnaud Sempebré also remains unaccounted for. According to relatives and judicial sources, no official information was provided regarding their whereabouts
Following national and international pressure, some of the detained victims were subsequently released. Michel Wendpouiré Nana, Zowenmanogo Dieudonné Zoungrana and Ousséni Ilboudo were reportedly freed on 14 and 15 October 2025. However, concerns remain regarding the location and safety of the judges and lawyer who remain unaccounted for.
These incidents raise questions about compliance with constitutional guarantees and international obligations binding on Burkina Faso, including protections under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights relating to freedom of expression, press freedom and protection against arbitrary detention.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is concerned over the arrests and welcomes the release of three out of five journalists detained. The Foundation calls on the Burkinabe authorities to ensure the immediate clarification of the status of the remaining arrested journalists, and the missing judges and lawyer. The MFWA calls on authorities to guarantee their safety and uphold the rights of media professionals and judicial officers to carry out their duties without intimidation or unlawful interference.
