Burkina Faso journalist Pagbelguem released after months in detention
Luc Pagbelguem, a video journalist for the private television station BF1, returned home on the night of 17 July 2025, the channel announced, expressing gratitude to ‘all those who contributed in one way or another’ to securing his release.
Boukari Ouoba, Vice President of the Burkina Faso Journalists Association (AJB), has also been freed, according to several local outlets, including Burkina Yawana.
Both journalists were arrested in late February after publicly criticising the Burkina Radio and Television (RTB) and the Burkina Information Agency (AIB) during an AJB general assembly, calling them ‘propaganda tools’.
Their detention highlighted ongoing tensions between freedom of expression and the emergency measures enacted under the law on general mobilisation and public warnings
Their release, welcomed by fellow journalists and human rights organisations, coincided with the release of Lamine Ouattara, an activist with the Burkinabè Movement for Human and Peoples’ Rights (MBDHP), who had been detained since November 2023.
These developments are being seen as a positive signal for civil society, even as the country remains under national mobilisation with its accompanying restrictions.
This article was first published here
