In the Sahel nations of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, military authorities are progressively tightening restrictions on press freedom and freedom of expression. Numerous journalists, bloggers, and activists have been compelled to flee into exile.
Following the coups between 2020 and 2023 in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, military leaders have enacted extensive criminal defamation and anti-terrorism legislation that permits the arbitrary detention of journalists, bloggers, and activists. They have also mandated the closure of independent radio stations and online platforms.
"It has become more oppressive. It's no longer as simple to voice opinions," stated Ulf Laessing, former director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Sahel program in Mali. "That is undoubtedly a point of criticism directed at the government."
In Mali, General Assimi Goita assumed power through two military coups in 2020 and 2021, progressively placing the country under military governance. In 2025, the National Transitional Council approved a draft law extending Goita's rule for an additional five years.
According to Laessing, the volatile security situation had initially seen some improvement in certain areas of Mali, with farmers even able to return to their fields. That is no longer the current reality. Mali continues to face the threat of terrorism, and jihadist insurgents hold control over parts of the country. "I don't believe any government will manage to reclaim those areas. Even if there were more coups or eventually an elected government," he sees little prospect of achieving peace in the nation.
Laessing noted that the people in Bamako desire neither Sharia law nor the Islamists. There would have been ample reasons to protest against the government, despite the dangers and repression. However, the population is aware that if this government falls, the next one will be more Islamist.
"That is not what the people want," Laessing said.
Silencing dissent in Burkina Faso
In the other two nations of the Sahel Alliance (AES), established in 2023—Burkina Faso and Niger—military rulers are also governing with a heavy hand. Freedom of expression and democratic ambitions are being severely restricted.
"In the case of Burkina Faso, I would argue that public space no longer exists at all," Burkinabe human rights activist Binta Sidibe-Gascon told DW. "Everyone is forced into silence and pressured to self-censor. Anyone who dares to speak out about the national situation is sent to the front lines."
Sidibe-Gascon serves as president of the NGO Observatoire Kisal and is a member of the Citizens' Coalition for the Sahel, an alliance aimed at strengthening civil society in the region. She herself resides in the diaspora.
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Burkinabe President Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup in September 2022 and pledged to the Burkinabe people that he would restore security in the country.
Little evidence of that is apparent. "All the rights of the Burkinabe have been taken away and are now in the hands of a single man who makes all the decisions. Civil rights, human rights, property rights—even the right to life. The death penalty has been reinstated. This is a step backward for Burkina Faso," Sidibe-Gascon said.
Junta leader Traore's stance on these fundamental democratic rights became clear by early April. "People need to forget about democracy," Traore stated on national television. "If an African tries to talk to you about democracy, you should run away. Democracy kills."
Freedom of the press is also heavily constrained in Burkina Faso. According to Reporters Without Borders, instances of intimidation against media workers have risen in recent years, and a dozen journalists have been forced into exile. "The ruling junta has also silenced foreign, mainly French, media outlets," the organization writes. In 2024, at least ten of them, including Jeune Afrique, Deutsche Welle, and the Guardian, were suspended for a specific period or indefinitely.
One illustration of how harshly the military regime is cracking down is the May 26 arrest of Imam Mohamed Ishaq Kindo, a prominent Sunni religious leader. The imam is alleged to have criticized a law intended to regulate religious practices, including public prayer. The arrest sparked rare unrest in the capital, Ouagadougou. Hundreds of supporters demanded Kindo's release, clashed with police, and dozens were arrested.
Ruling by spreading fear
For Newton Ahmed Barry, a Burkinabe journalist living in exile, these events are part of a strategy of fear. "This is the logic of this junta and its leader: The more people are afraid, the more they pay their way out of trouble. They instill fear and terror in everyone to keep them under their control and thus rule in peace," Barry said.
Another sign of repression is the three-month suspension of the General Union of Students of Burkina Faso (UGEB), whose president and several members were arrested. The union had criticized the security situation. Now the organization is accused of "glorifying terrorism" and "demoralizing the security forces."
Mahamadou Idder Alghabid, deputy secretary-general of the Alliance of Sahel Democrats (ADS), views the accusations as part of a regional pattern. "It is absurd to accuse students, unarmed civilians, of glorifying terrorism," he told DW. "But this is a well-known pattern in the Sahel."
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In his view, the juntas' "propaganda" initially succeeded because they presented concepts that Africans longed for: Things like sovereignty and what they called the fight against imperialism. "But today, all these promises to the people of the Sahel—whether they come from Burkina Faso, Niger, or Mali—have proven to be false." People in the Sahel are recognizing this and abandoning the "coup plotters' ship."
Despite the risks—arrests, kidnappings, violence—there continues to be vocal criticism, though mostly from abroad, Alghabid emphasized. "We are aware of how immense the struggle ahead of us is, because we are facing three military regimes."
Activists believe that responsibility lies not only with civil society and the diaspora but also with the international community. "Burkina Faso's partners can no longer hide behind the notion that any condemnation of the junta is counterproductive," said Ilaria Allegrozzi, a Sahel researcher at the rights group Human Rights Watch. "Silence and ambiguity ultimately always legitimize authoritarian excesses."
This article was originally written in German