Authorities in Burkina Faso have failed to investigate the whereabouts of journalist Atiana Serge Oulon two years after her forced “disappearance” by Tate Security Forces, a coalition of human rights groups said On Monday he renewed his calls for his immediate release.
Oulon, the director of the newspaper L’Événement (The Event), known for its investigative reporting on government corruption, was reportedly abducted by State Security Service officers from his home in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, in June 2024.
The joint statement was issued by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, Observatoire Kisal and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture. The groups warn that enforced disappearances are a crime under international law. They have called on the government of Burkina Faso to disclose Oulon’s whereabouts and condition, release him immediately and investigate those responsible. Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW). said:
Several dozen government critics were illegally drafted and sent to combat zones without proper training. This cruel practice appears to be aimed at scaring and coercing critics into submission.
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Without Borders, RSF for short) reported In May 2026, Oulon was held in private homes in Ouagadougou that were converted into detention centers. There he was beaten, deprived of food and denied access to lawyers or family members. Rights group including amnesty, RSF and Observatoire Kisal have also spoken out, jointly condemning his disappearance and calling it a deliberate attack on press freedom.
Burkina Faso is now a contracting party International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance Enforced disappearances are classified as crimes under international law, depriving victims of legal protection and exposing them to torture or extrajudicial execution.
