West Africa: MFWA, Partners Petition Benin's President Over Journalist's Prolonged Pre-Trial Detention

What the report says

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), together with nine partner organizations in the region, has sent an open letter and petition to Benin’s President Romuald Wadagni urging action in the case of journalist Hugues Comlan Sossoukpè. The appeal was issued as part of activities tied to the 2026 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, according to AllAfrica’s report of an MFWA press release.

The groups say Sossoukpè, founder and publication director of the investigative outlet Olofofo, has been in pre-trial detention for nearly 16 months without trial. They also raise concerns about his health and the conditions of his detention. The petition says he spent seven months in solitary confinement and continues to need specialist care for respiratory and eye problems.

AllAfrica reported that Sossoukpè was forcibly transferred from Côte d’Ivoire to Benin in July 2025, despite having been granted refugee status in Togo in 2021. The signatories say his request for provisional release on medical grounds was rejected in August 2026 and that no trial date has been set.

The MFWA and its partners are calling on Beninese authorities to end the prolonged detention, provide adequate medical care, and either release him provisionally on humanitarian and medical grounds or bring the case promptly before a competent court for a fair trial. The petition also reflects broader press-freedom advocacy in West Africa.