MARTIN BUREAU via Getty Images
Four French people suspected of espionage by Ouagadougou were finally released thanks to Morocco’s efforts to obtain their release.
INTERNATIONAL – End of the ordeal, almost one day to the day after their arrest. While French diplomacy had been relatively discreet about the fate of four French officials detained for a year in Burkina Faso, the General Directorate of French Foreign Intelligence (DGSE) announced their release to the AFP this Thursday, December 19.
If the Moroccan press already shared the news in recent hours, this confirmation puts an end to a little over a year of detention for these four French people, arrested in a moment of breakdown in relations between Paris and Ouagadougou. Here is what we know about their release, notably made possible thanks to the mediation put in place by the King of Morocco.
· Mohammed VI, as mediator
One year and 18 days after their arrest, these four French people, holders of diplomatic passports and visas, finally regained their freedom. As the Élysée has since clarified, Morocco intervened in the negotiations with Ouagadougou to “ the release of our four compatriots held for a year ».
In this capacity, Emmanuel Macron spoke on Wednesday with the King of Morocco Mohammed VI “in order to warmly thank him for the success of the mediation that he made possible”.
A successful mediation by the King of Morocco which comes as Paris and Rabat have sealed their reconciliation, embodied by a state visit by the French president at the end of October to Morocco, after three years of acute crisis. Quite the opposite of relations between France and Burkina Faso, at their lowest level for more than two years.
“This humanitarian act was made possible thanks to the excellent relations between His Majesty the King and President (Ibrahim) Traoré and the long-standing good relations uniting the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Burkina Faso”commented the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.
· Interpellations at the end of 2023
On December 1, 2023, these four French nationals presented by the Burkinabe authorities as intelligence agents were arrested in the capital Ouagadougou. On the day of their arrest, a French diplomatic source declared to AFP that it was “ four technicians » Who “were in Burkina Faso to carry out a computer maintenance operation for the benefit of the French embassy”. Rejecting the accusations “according to which these technicians were sent to Burkina Faso for reasons other than their computer maintenance work ».
About two weeks after their arrest, they were indicted and transferred to the Ouagadougou remand center. Launching a diplomatic standoff to obtain their release, at a time of deterioration in relations between the two countries due to the rapprochement of Ouagadougou with Moscow and after the coup d’état by Captain Ibrahim Traoré in September 2022.
As proof, the French embassy in Burkina Faso is only headed by a charge d’affaires since the Burkinabe authorities obtained the departure of ambassador Luc Hallade. In April, two political advisors at the embassy were also declared « persona non grata » pour “subversive activities” and asked to leave the country.
Also see on HuffPost :
Reading this content may result in cookies being placed by the third-party operator who hosts it. Taking into account the choices you have expressed regarding the deposit of cookies, we have blocked the display of this content. If you wish to access it, you must accept the “Third Party Content” category of cookies by clicking on the button below.
Play Video
