Eleven civil society organizations in Burkina Faso denounced “recurrent kidnappings” and “arbitrary detentions” of citizens and called on the military regime in power to release them and prohibit these practices.
In a press release, these organizations regret the “arrests of citizens (sometimes in the middle of the street) by people dressed in civilian clothes, hooded or who present themselves with their faces uncovered as elements of the Internal Security Forces (FSI).”
“These practices constitute nothing more and nothing less than kidnappings,” they add, highlighting that “people kidnapped are generally kidnapped without a declared official reason and are detained in places kept secret by their captors.”
“Kidnapping employees”
They mention a list of personalities thus kidnapped, among whom are in particular the lawyer Guy Hervé Kam, the human rights defenders Daouda Diallo and Lamine Ouattara or the former minister Ablassé Ouedraogo.
“These kidnappers also now appear to have targeted the university campuses of Ouagadougou,” he continues, mentioning the kidnappings of students in January and February.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power through a coup d’état in September 2022, signed a year-long “general mobilization” decree in April, which allows the requisition of “young people over 18 years of age” to fight against the jihadists whose attacks have caused bloodshed. the country for almost ten years.
This decree also stipulated that “individual and collective rights and freedoms guaranteed by laws and regulations may in certain cases be restricted or limited.” On Wednesday, the Burkinabe government extended this decree for another year.
Source: BFM TV
