Benin: sentence served for cyber activist Steve Amoussou, aka “Brother Hounvi”

The end of incarceration for Steve Amoussou. The Beninese cyberactivist has completed his sentence this Thursday, August 20, 2026.

According to information reported by Bip Radio, he has finished serving his two-year prison sentence handed down by the Court for the Suppression of Economic and Terrorist Offenses (CRIET).

The case had sparked significant emotion and numerous reactions when it unfolded in August 2024. Arrested on August 12, 2024, in Lomé, Togo, under controversial circumstances, Steve Amoussou was brought back to Benin before being presented to the special prosecutor of CRIET. He was subsequently placed under deposit warrant on August 20, 2024.

At the center of the case, the special prosecution accused him of electronic harassment, initiation and dissemination of false news, and direct provocation to rebellion.

The justice system presented him as the face behind the pseudonym “Brother Hounvi,” known for his virulent opposition chronicles against the government of President Patrice Talon, an attribution he has always denied.

Court Proceedings before CRIET

On June 2, 2025, the special court sentenced him in the first instance to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine, after requalifying the facts as “insult with political motivation” and dissemination of false news.

In December 2025, the appeals chamber of CRIET confirmed the two-year prison sentence along with a fine of two million CFA francs, while reinstating the initial charges of electronic harassment, dissemination of false news, and incitement to rebellion.

Having served his entire sentence, Steve Amoussou regains his freedom on August 20, 2026, exactly two years to the day after being placed under deposit warrant.