On Tuesday, the well-known political activist and journalist Idrissa Barry was arrested by men claiming to be gendarmes in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, sparking fears he has been forcibly disappeared.
Barry, 48, is the national secretary of the opposition political group Servir et Non se Servir (“To Serve and Not Serve Oneself,” or SENS).
According to Barry’s colleagues and the media, Barry was arrested while attending a meeting with officials in Saaba, a district in the capital. The car that took him away had no license plate. SENS issued a statement condemning the arrest and calling on authorities to release him.
Barry’s colleagues said they searched for him in police and gendarmerie stations across Ouagadougou to no avail, and that prosecutors in the capital said they had not ordered Barry’s arrest.
Four days before Barry was arrested, SENS issued a statement denouncing the “deadly attacks” by government forces and allied militias, known as Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie (Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, or VDPs), against civilians around Solenzo, in western Burkina Faso, on March 10 and 11.
Human Rights Watch reviewed video footage that circulated on social media and appears to implicate VDP militias in the massacre of several dozen civilians, including children. Armed men are visible in the footage and wear identifiable militia uniforms. The attack was apparently in retaliation against the local community, which the government has accused of supporting Islamist armed groups.
Since taking power in an October 2022 coup, the military junta has used a sweeping emergency law to silence dissent as well as journalists and civil society activists. The authorities have also officially informed opposition party members, journalists, and magistrates that they would be conscripted to participate in counterinsurgency operations across the country. The government made good on these threats and began to force perceived opponents into the VDPs.
There are grave concerns that Barry may be unlawfully forced into militia service.
The government’s arrest of a person without acknowledging their detention or whereabouts is an enforced disappearance, which is a serious violation of international human rights law. Enforced disappearances can violate a range of human rights, including prohibitions against arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, and extrajudicial execution.
The authorities should immediately disclose Barry’s whereabouts and release him.
