Burkina Faso expels two French journalists for questioning freedom of speech

The military junta in Burkina Faso on Sunday, expelled two French journalists working with Le Monde and Liberation, after the two newspapers accused the authorities of seeking to stifle freedom of speech with an escalating crackdown on foreign media.

The Liberation Newspaper on Monday, said its correspondent, Agnès Faivre and Le Monde’s Sophie Douce arrived in Paris early on Sunday after they were summoned separately for questioning by the military authorities on Friday and later notified of their expulsion.

The paper also said a recent investigation by Faivre into children and adolescents allegedly being killed in a military barracks had likely displeased the authorities.

“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,” the Liberation said in an editorial.

READ ALSO:Ousted Burkina Faso junta leader, Damiba steps down, flees to Togo

“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.

“Douce’s reporting obviously ended up seeming unbearable to the regime of Ibrahim Traoré, transition president for six months.

“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.

In the past few months, relations between Paris and Ouagadougou have deteriorated sharply since the military seized power in a coup last October.

The military administration has since ordered French troops to withdraw from the country and suspended broadcasts by France’s RFI radio and television channel France 24.

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