An influential Sunni preacher and imam was arrested in military-run Burkina Faso on Tuesday after criticising a draft law regulating religion, with police firing tear gas on people seeking his release.
The west African country has been run for nearly four years by a junta, which has cracked down on criticism and openly states that the country is not a democracy.
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Mohamad Ishaq Kindo was arrested in the capital, Ougadougou, but no reason has yet been given for his detention, the Federation of Islamic Association of Burkina (FAIB) said in a statement.
The group said it had approached the authorities to obtain “precise information” about his whereabouts and “a favourable outcome”.
One of the imam’s relatives who witnessed the arrest on the eve of the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha said it was carried out “by security personnel, including masked police and soldiers”.
“It was violent because the worshippers around him resisted, which caused tension,” the family member added.
Another close associate said some of the worshippers were injured.
Two days ago, a recording of one of Kindo’s teachings was widely shared online.
In it, he condemned the adoption in March of a draft law regulating the exercise of religious freedoms in Burkina Faso and called on the authorities to “reflect more deeply on the implications of their actions”.
Hundreds of people protested in the capital after his arrest, demanding his release. The crowds were broken up when teargas was fired.
The junta has justified its punitive action against dissent because of its lengthy fight against jihadist groups across the country.
