The international non-governmental organisation says the Burkinabè authorities should publicly report on the whereabouts the three men’s abductions.

In a statement released today, HRW say Serge Oulon, the Director of an investigative newspaper, Adama Bayala, and Kalifara Séré, both working as television commentators, “raises concerns about enforced disappearances and possible unlawful conscriptions into the armed forces.”

Their cases appear linked to a wave of repression by Burkinabè authorities, who have severely restricted the rights of activists, journalists, opposition party members, and dissidents, HRW said.

“Arbitrary arrests, abductions, and enforced disappearances of journalists, activists, and dissidents have become the new normal in Burkina Faso,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, Senior Sahel researcher at HRW.

“The military junta should take immediate action to locate and report on the three missing individuals and release them if they are wrongfully held.”

Adama Bayala, 45, a regular commentator on the private television channel BF1, has been missing since he left his office in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou on June 28.

Days before Bayala was reported missing, a message posted on the pro-junta Facebook page Anonymous Élite Alpha threatened him, warning him that he “will be next.” The message referred to previous abductions of journalists and dissidents.

On June 24, a group of gunmen in civilian clothes who claimed to work for intelligence services, abducted Oulon, 39, who is the Director of the bimonthly publication L’Événement (The Event), from his home in Ouagadougou.

In December 2022, Oulon wrote an article denouncing the alleged embezzlement by an army captain of some 400 million CFA ($660 000) that were part of a budget allocated to support an organisation that assists the armed forces.

Séré, also a commentator on BFI, was reported missing after leaving a meeting.

The abductions of Bayala, Oulon, and Séré come amid growing reports that Burkinabè security forces have intimidated, arbitrarily detained, forcibly disappeared, and unlawfully conscripted journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and dissidents.

Since the military coup in September 2022, the junta has increasingly suppressed media freedom and access to information.

--ChannelAfrica\Linda Kea Moreotsene--