Burkina Faso conscripts six magistrates for acting against pro-junta activists say unions

Burkina Faso's military junta has conscripted at least six magistrates who took legal action against pro-junta activists, Reuters reports citing to a statement from three unions of magistrates. The targeted magistrates were forced into the military this month. They include a prosecutor who ordered an investigation into forced disappearances and a judge overseeing a case involving a pro-junta figure responsible for a landslide that killed around 60 people. The junta, which came to power in a 2022 coup, is accused of suppressing dissent by conscripting its critics and urging citizens to report suspicious neighbors in the name of national security. Despite criticism from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the military regime has consistently refused to comment on such allegations.

Burkina Faso remains embroiled in a jihadist insurgency that has spread across the Sahel region, helping prompt several military coups across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger since 2020.