West Africa: Journalist Sentenced to Six Months in Prison

16 July 2025
Media Foundation for West Africa (Accra)
press release

On July 14, the director of Radio Baoulé, Seydou Oumar Traoré, was sentenced to six months in prison and fined one million CFA francs ( $1,785.58 ), for the charge of offending a foreign head of state.

Seydou Traoré was arrested on May 26, 2025 following a widespread circulation of a video on social media, in which he accused General Doumbouya of Guinea of "betraying the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) by collaborating with Western powers to host terrorist bases in Guinea."

He was subsequently detained for "offending a foreign head of state" and placed under a warrant of deportation by the Cybercrime Unit.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) finds the fine and sentencing of Seydou Traoré concerning especially as the journalist publicly apologised for the comments he made. We urge the authorities to review the sentence and release the journalist.

Read the original of this report, with tables and illustrations where appropriate.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Media Foundation for West Africa. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 120 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.