APA – Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) – The former head of Burkina Faso’s diplomacy was on the published list of people seized.
Former foreign minister, Dr Ablassé Ouédraogo, was “kidnapped” from his home in Ouagadougou on Sunday 24 December by “hooded gunmen,” his party, Le Faso Autrement, said in a statement to APA.
The party said the kidnappers first surrounded his house before two of them entered the courtyard and asked Dr Ablassé Ouédraogo to follow them.
He did not resist and was taken to an unknown location.
Faso Autrement “condemned and denounced the kidnapping”.
According to the party, he was abducted because he “raises his voice in the face of adversity to denounce the shortcomings of society and to propose solutions.”
It demanded his “immediate and unconditional release” and called on the people of Burkina Faso to denounce this “shameful kidnapping” of a 70-year-old man.
At the beginning of November, a number of leading figures were seized and sent to the front line in the fight against jihadist groups.
Several human rights and trade union organisations protested against this “abuse of power” and demanded their release.
They then took the Burkina Faso government to court to have the measure overturned.
In early December, a court suspended the seizure of several members of civil society.
DS/ac/lb/as/APA