Mohamed Sinon, a pro-transition activist, has been sentenced by the criminal chamber of the Ouagadougou High Court to 36 months in prison with a fine of one million FCFA for “defamation” against the gendarmerie and death threats against journalists.
This Tuesday in Ouagadougou, the verdict was delivered, and activist Mohamed Sinon, a staunch supporter of Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s regime, was found guilty. He was charged for statements made against the national gendarmerie in a video.
Additionally, he was also given a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of 500,000 FCFA that he had been handed in February in another trial where he was convicted of threatening two renowned journalists in Burkina Faso with death. According to the court’s decision, he will serve a cumulative sentence of ten years in prison and pay a fine of one million FCFA.
During the February trial, Mohamed Sinon admitted to making mistakes and acknowledged that he had spoken excessively, but he denied the defamation allegations against the gendarmerie. In his incriminating video, he asserted that the Gendarmerie was not fully committed to fighting corruption, instead prioritizing the fight against terrorism, as stated by the prosecution.
