Journalist critical of Benin president extradited from Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast has arrested and extradited to Benin a journalist critical of the small west African country's president, the reporter's lawyers said late on Sunday.
Benin was once seen as a thriving multi-party democracy but critics say President Patrice Talon, in power since 2016, has become increasingly repressive.
Hugues Comlan Soussoukpe, the publishing director of online newspaper Olofofo, had been living in exile in Togo, where he has held refugee status since 2019, according to his lawyers.
Soussoukpe's arrest
At the invitation of Ivory Coast's digital transition ministry, he travelled to Abidjan on July 8 for an online innovation forum.
On July 11, Benin's press began reporting that he had been arrested in the Ivorian economic capital and extradited.
Soussoukpe's lawyer, Charlemagne Dagbedji, confirmed on Sunday that he had been arrested.
He demanded that his client's 'fundamental rights be strictly respected' and accused Ivory Coast of inviting the journalist 'for him to then be captured by the Beninese authorities'.
ALSO READ: Four Ivory Coast opposition figures barred from October presidential vote
Soussoukpe's legal team said in a statement on Sunday evening that he had been imprisoned in Ouidah, south Benin.
'Professional assignment turned into a trap'
Condemning the arrest and his extradition, Reporters Without Borders urged Benin to release Soussoukpe immediately.
'What was supposed to be a professional assignment turned into a trap,' added the press freedom watchdog, known by its French acronym RSF.
Neither Benin nor Ivory Coast had commented on the journalist's arrest by Monday morning.
Online activist jailed
Benin has previously been accused of kidnapping online activist Steve Amoussou from neighbouring Togo.
Amoussous was detained in August 2024 and in June this year handed a two-year jail sentence for criticising the authorities.
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