A prominent Burkina Faso lawyer and civil society leader, Guy Herve Kam, has been jailed on charges of plotting against the country’s military rulers, just days after being released from prison, his legal team said on Friday.
Kam appeared at a military court accused of “hatching a plot to overthrow” the West African country’s junta, according to Prosper Farama, a member of Kam’s legal support team. The judges accused Kam of conspiring with others to target the lives of officials, charges which Farama and his group denounced as “ridiculous.”
Kam was initially detained in January and ordered to be released by a court the following month, a decision upheld on appeal on April 23. However, after his release on Wednesday, he was reportedly kidnapped and then re-incarcerated on Thursday.
In recent weeks, several individuals perceived as opponents of the military government led by Captain Ibrahim Traore have been kidnapped or possibly arrested in Ouagadougou, the capital.
Amnesty International condemned the arrests of Kam and Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana, who was also allegedly kidnapped this week shortly after his release from prison and accused of attempting to “destabilize state institutions.”
Amnesty’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Samira Daoud, called the accusations against Kam “unfounded” and demanded his “immediate and unconditional release.”
Daoud also condemned the enforced disappearance of Zoungrana, urging authorities to disclose information about his whereabouts and release him if he is being arbitrarily detained.
Burkina Faso has experienced two coups since 2022, with the current regime extending military rule for another five years amid ongoing insecurity.
Jihadist rebels affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have been waging an insurgency since 2015, resulting in thousands of deaths and millions of displacements.
