Journalists demand Benin free jailed colleagues

A group of 50 west African journalists and press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called Friday for the release of two colleagues jailed in Benin for the past year.

The appeal came on the first anniversary of the arrest of Beninese journalist Hugues Comlan Sossoukpe, a critic of the country's government.

Sossoukpe, who had been living in exile in Togo, was arrested on July 10, 2025 while attending a conference in Ivory Coast, then flown to Benin and jailed, in what RSF has condemned as a "kidnapping".

Six days later, fellow journalist Ali Moumouni was also arrested, accused of being Sossoukpe's collaborator.

The pair face charges including online harassment and defence of terrorism, according to the rights group.

In a letter published in newsweekly Jeune Afrique, RSF and journalists from around the region condemned the men's detention and called on President Romuald Wadagni to ensure their release.

"No trial date has yet been set for either journalist," they said, warning that Sossoukpe in particular was in a "worrying situation" because he suffers from eye problems and has had no access to an ophthalmologist.

Sossoukpe is the editor of Beninese media outlet Olofofo, which was banned several months before his arrest.

Wadagni and his mentor, former president Patrice Talon, have presided over more than a decade of economic growth in Benin.

But Talon faced accusations of taking an authoritarian turn with the jailing of numerous opponents, and Wadagni, who won the election to succeed him in April, faces pressure to commit to respecting civil liberties.