Four French officials detained for more than a year for espionage released

Four French officials who had been detained in Burkina Faso for over a year have been released. This was reported by RFI, citing Elysée sources according to which the release took place thanks to the mediation carried out by the Moroccan government. “The President of the Republic spoke by telephone on Wednesday 18 December with His Majesty the King Mohammed VIKing of Morocco, to thank him warmly for the success of the mediation which made possible the release of our four compatriots detained for a period of one year in Burkina Faso”, indicated the Elysée, confirming the information circulating shortly before in the Moroccan press.

The French Directorate General of External Security (DGSE) confirmed the news. The four members of the DGSE were arrested on December 1, 2023 while traveling to Ouagadougou to work with the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) of Burkina Faso. According to the military junta in power in the African country, the officials were in possession of illegal visas and accused them of having documents and photos considered sensitive by Burkinabé security on their cell phones.

The French agents were then accused of espionage and incarcerated in Maco, the Ouagadougou prison, then secretly transferred to various residences in the high-class Ouaga 2000 neighborhood. An initial mediation was carried out by the president of Togo, Faure Gnassingbé, but his negotiators were unable to obtain the release of the four as the Burkinabe military demanded in exchange large sums of money and the extradition of several opposition figures who had taken refuge in France.

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