Dr. Daouda Diallo is transitioning back to civilian life. Following the release of politician Ablassé Ouedraogo on the morning of Thursday, March 7th, the human rights defender returned from the conflict zone on Friday, March 8th, where he had been forcibly taken in early December 2023.
“After ten weeks in the field, he is back home and doing well,” stated a close associate of Daouda Diallo, providing no further details. The human rights defender, who returned to Ouagadougou last night, has reunited with his family and has not yet spoken out.
Punitive Measure
Arrested on December 1st, 2023, as he was leaving the passport office, Dr. Diallo, a pharmacist by profession, was among twelve individuals requisitioned by the military in early November 2023. A respected activist, the Secretary-General of the Collective against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities had severely criticized the ruling military, arguing that the requisition was a “punitive measure” and called on Burkinabè citizens to mobilize and “block the path to the emerging dictatorship.”
Two Members of the Citizen’s Broom Arrested
Clad in camouflage with a firearm in hand, Daouda Diallo had appeared in photos at the end of the year, and more recently in a video alongside Ablassé Ouedragogo, who was released on Thursday. Other activists have been recently arrested in Burkina Faso, including two members of the Citizen’s Broom: Rasmane Zinaba and Bassirou Badjo in mid-February 2024. Since then, the civil society movement has had no news of these two activists.