Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè Case: A Matter of Professional Conscience
In the recollection of Beninese journalists, there has never been a situation like what occurred with the arrest on Thursday, July 10, 2025, in Abidjan, of Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè, who was regularly invited by the Ivorian Ministry of Digital for media coverage.
L’activiste béninois Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè arrêté à Lomé et extradé vers Cotonou
Immediately extradited to Benin, he was presented to the judge of freedoms and detention of the Court of repression of economic crimes and terrorism (#CRIET) and placed under warrant of deposit.
The web activist and whistleblower, who has refugee status in Togo, is accused of “inciting rebellion, inciting hatred and violence, harassment through electronic communication, and glorifying terrorism”.
Apart from all political and partisan considerations, besides the judicial twists, this case causes certain discomfort among media professionals and reveals an utter loss of bearings within the profession, each one questioning without being able to answer what the correct approach should be in this circumstance. With which hand should one handle this hot potato that threatens to lodge in one’s throat and scorch the muscles of swallowing and phonation?
𝐀𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Without necessarily taking an aggressive stance, professional journalism associations in Benin had the obligation to take responsibility, not necessarily by condemning, but at least by acknowledging the facts, questioning, and urging respect for procedural rules and the rights of the colleague, before being more fully informed.
Whatever the charges brought against the colleague, and without prejudice to the rights that the State reserves to protect itself against certain abuses.
But they simply chose to be absent from the debate and to silence their conscience, suggesting a sense of a distressing resignation. By doing so, they prove the lethargy of this profession that has lost its bearings. Once upon a time, the Union of Professional Journalists of Benin (UJPB), despite its shortcomings, would have proven its existence and usefulness, by at least issuing a principle statement.