French newspapers, Le Monde and Liberation announced on Sunday that two French journalists had been expelled from Burkina Faso. The newspapers claimed that the authorities were trying to restrict free speech by intensifying their campaign on foreign media.
Agnes Faivre, a reporter for Liberation, and Sophie Douce, a reporter for Le Monde, were reportedly summoned separately for questioning by the military authorities on Friday and afterwards informed of their expulsion. According to Liberation, they arrived in Paris early on Sunday.
The two are “journalists of perfect integrity, who worked in Burkina Faso legally, with valid visas and accreditations … We strongly protest against these absolutely unjustified expulsions,” Liberation said in a statement on its website.
“These two expulsions mark a new major setback in the freedom to inform on the situation in Burkina Faso,” Le Monde Director Jérôme Fenoglio also said in a statement.
Burkina Faso authorities have not released a statement regarding the expulsions, and they have not yet responded to a request for comment.
On March 27, the Burkinabe government released a statement denying a Liberation report on alleged murders committed by its military.
Liberation said its recent investigation into children and adolescents allegedly being killed in a military barracks had displeased the authorities.
“These restrictions on freedom of information are unacceptable and the sign of a power that refuses to allow its actions to be questioned,” it said.
The Burkinabe government earlier rejected the article and accused the paper of seeking to discredit the armed forces.
Relations between Paris and Ouagadougou have deteriorated sharply since Burkina Faso’s military seized power in a coup in September. The junta has since ordered French troops to withdraw from the country and suspended broadcasts by France’s RFI radio and television channel France 24.
