An influential Personevent

Norbert Zongo was a pioneering journalist and fearless critic of the government in Burkina Faso. He was brutally killed on 13 December 1998, along with three companions. Compelling evidence points to the involvement of security officials in his murder. In an interview given in July 1997, he himself said, "you cannot be everyone’s friend". The full text of this interview, which provides a vivid insight into his commitment to human rights, can be found as an Appendix to this report. This report honours the memory of Norbert Zongo.


ARTICLE 19 adds its voice to the many who have called for the full truth about his murder to be revealed and for those responsible to be brought to justice.



Introduction

Norbert Zongo, one of Burkina Faso’s best known journalists, was editor-in-chief of an independent weekly newspaper, L’Indépendant, and a founding member in 1989 of the Mouvement Burkinabé des droits de l’homme et des peuples (MBDHP) [Burkinabé Movement for Human and...