Incident between 30 October 2014 and 2 November 2014 [+] Print this page
Location: Ouagadougou, Centre [+]
Country: Burkina Faso [+]
Violation types: Beating [+] Violations of the right to freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment [+] Violations of the right to freedom of expression [+] Violations of the right to peaceful assembly [+] Violent repression of peaceful protests [+]
Description
According to Amnesty International: "During the protests, the gendarmerie (military police), the national army including the Presidential Security Regiment (Régiment de Sécurité Présidentielle, RSP), and the police were deployed. [...] A journalist who was heading to the Palace to attend a press conference described to Amnesty International how he was beaten by soldiers: "Around 10pm, I was heading to the Presidential Palace, after going through the roadblocks put up by security forces; I was stopped at another one. I showed my press card to the Presidential Security members. They asked me to get out of my car and told me to lie down. Two of them took turns beating me with batons all over my body.” [...] In the context of the protests that took place in Burkina Faso between 30 October and 2 November 2014, security forces violated the right to life, the right to freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to freedom of expression, among other human rights. The testimonies and evidence gathered by Amnesty International indicate that security forces arbitrarily used lethal force on peaceful protestors, resulting in at least ten deaths and hundreds of injuries." [+]
Sources
| Publication Date | Publisher | Publication Title | Access Date | Archive Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January 2015 | Amnesty International | "Just what were they thinking when they shot at people?” Crackdown on anti-government protests in Burkina Faso. Index number: AFR 60/001/2015. | 22 February 2019 |