Sophie Douce, correspondent for Le Monde Afrique, was expelled from Burkina Faso on Saturday April 1, along with Agnès Faivre, correspondent for Liberation. The journalist learned that she was ordered to leave the country within 24 hours by agents of the Burkinabe State Security Directorate. The latter had presented themselves, in civilian clothes, at the journalist’s home on Saturday morning April 1.
“You have been verbally notified that your accreditation [which allows you to practice journalism in a country] and your press card are cancelled. You have twenty-four hours to leave Burkina Faso,” said one of these agents. No official document signifying this expulsion has been given to Sophie Douce or to the management of Le Monde, no reason has been given by the Burkinabe authorities. “It’s a verbal notification. It’s from the authorities, “said one of the two officers. The evening before, the correspondent for Liberation had received the same visit and the same order.
The two journalists had been summoned in the afternoon of Friday, March 31 to the direction of state security, the Burkinabé intelligence services. Received separately, they had been questioned about their travels, their work in Burkina Faso and an article published by Liberation on Monday March 27. This investigation reveals abuses committed by the army: we see at least one Burkinabé soldier killing children in a military camp. The publication by Liberation of this investigation seems to have finally decided the Burkinabe authorities to expel the two correspondents, who were both in possession of valid visas and accreditations.
Multiple violations of freedom of the press
Press freedom has continued to be restricted in Burkina Faso since Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s coup on September 30, 2022. In December, FM broadcasting of Radio France Internationale (RFI) was suspended in the country ; Monday, March 27, France 24, the television channel of the same group, France Médias Monde, also saw its broadcast interrupted, being accused of having interviewed, three weeks earlier, Abou Obeida Youssef Al-Annabi, the leader of Al -Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), one of the armed jihadist groups operating in Burkina Faso.
“By opening its antennas to the first head of AQIM, France 24 not only acts as a communication agency for these terrorists, worse it offers a space for legitimizing terrorist actions and hate speech conveyed to satisfy the evil aims of this organization on Burkina Faso,” accused government spokesman Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo. These accusations, like the sanctions taken by the Burkinabé government, have aroused the indignation of organizations defending freedom of the press.
Like the President of neighboring Mali, Colonel Assimi Goïta, who also came to power by a putsch in May 2021, Ibrahim Traoré is putting increasing pressure on the media and critical voices, especially those who target the actions of the army. Since his arrival at the head of state, hate messages and calls for violence against journalists have multiplied. The press, both Burkinabe and international, has been summoned several times by the communication ministry, being criticized for its coverage of the fight against jihadist groups. She was warned against spreading “enemy” messages or information that could “discourage” the population.
While the country faces incessant attacks by armed groups and the violence has claimed more than ten thousand lives in seven years in the country, Ibrahim Traoré has made the restoration of security his main mission. On March 23, the transitional president had once again threatened: “All those who think they are hidden, inside or outside, who continue to inform, to communicate for the enemy, they will pay for it. »
Sophie Douce was doing her job as a journalist in Burkina Faso. Installed since 2018 in the country, she has covered for Le Monde, but also for Ouest-France, L’Express and for radio Medi1, the daily life of this country with passion, rigor, impartiality and independence. Her work on populations displaced by jihadist violence earned her the Varenne Prize in 2022.