RSF condemns the arrest of Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè and demands his immediate release
As the Beninese journalist Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè is presented this Monday, July 14, 2025, before the special prosecutor of the CRIET, the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed its indignation at the circumstances of his arrest.
In a statement released today, the press freedom defense organization denounces an arrest qualified as “unheard of” and demands the immediate release of the journalist.
“RSF condemns with the utmost firmness the arrest and handover of Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè by the Ivorian authorities to the Beninese authorities, in blatant violation of his refugee status,” stated Arnaud Froger, head of the RSF investigation bureau.
According to the organization, the journalist, who was in Abidjan on a professional mission, was allegedly arrested and handed over to the Beninese authorities without respect for legal guarantees, especially those related to his protection as a refugee.
RSF points to what it considers to be an unacceptable collusion between the Ivorian and Beninese states.
The organization also demands official explanations from the Ivorian government, which has so far remained silent on this matter. It accuses Abidjan of facilitating the “well-established persecution” of a journalist by actively involving itself in his transfer to Benin.
Since the arrest of Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè, several human rights and press freedom defense organizations have expressed their concerns. However, no statement has yet been made by the Beninese authorities, nor by the Ivorian authorities.
This case raises many questions in journalistic and diplomatic circles, in view of the increasingly tense regional context around freedom of expression and the treatment of dissenting voices.
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