Burkina Faso’s military leaders are using an urgent military recruitment campaign to target judges and prosecutors who are investigating their supporters, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
HRW stated on Wednesday that security forces in Burkina Faso contacted at least seven magistrates by phone between August 9 and 12 to inform them of their deployment for counterterrorism operations in the northern Sanmatenga province from August 14 to November 13.
Six magistrates went to a military base in the capital, Ouagadougou, on August 14 to comply with their notifications and have not been in contact since then, according to two judicial sources mentioned by HRW. The primary union representing judges and prosecutors had previously cautioned about the potential for this kind of conscription and described instances of humiliation and intimidation.
“The authorities should immediately revoke these bogus conscription notices,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at HRW.
In April 2023, Captain Ibrahim Traore, the leader of the junta, approved a decree for general mobilisation to confront the uprising by terrorists, which has resulted in over 20,000 fatalities and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes since 2015.
Additionally, individuals seen as opposed to the military leadership have been reportedly abducted in Ouagadougou and other parts of the country this year.