Benin: Journalist Ali Moumouni Remains Detained Over a Year Without Trial

What the report says

Media Foundation for West Africa, as carried by AllAfrica, reports that Beninese journalist and former Canal 3 employee Ali Moumouni remains in detention more than a year after his arrest, with no ruling yet in his case. He is being held at Cotonou Civil Prison and faces charges that include incitement to violence and rebellion, harassment through electronic communications, and glorification of terrorism.

According to the report, Moumouni was arrested in Cotonou on July 16, 2025, while leading a journalism training session at Sainte Rita College. He was first taken to the National Centre for Digital Investigations, then held at the Cotonou port police station, before being remanded by the Court for the Repression of Economic Offenses and Terrorism on July 21, 2025. The case is tied to allegations that he collaborated with the online outlet Olofofo, which was founded by journalist Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè.

The article says investigators linked Moumouni to Sossoukpè after reviewing Sossoukpè’s phone and identifying him as a contact who shared field information and images. Moumouni’s first hearing was held on March 25, 2026, but it was interrupted because of his health. MFWA says the long pretrial detention raises fair-trial concerns and urges Beninese authorities to release him and stop using digital and anti-terror laws against journalists and their sources. The report also highlights wider questions about press freedom and the use of extended detention in sensitive media cases.