In mid-April, an influential imam from Bobo-Dioulasso, Mahmoud Barro, was detained under similar circumstances. Just days earlier, on March 31, cyber-activist Mahamadi Baguian—despite being a government supporter—died following his arrest by Ouagadougou police.

These three cases—including that of Imam Mohamed Kindo, arrested around 2 p.m. on Tuesday—center on a controversial draft law regulating religious freedoms in Burkina Faso. The legislation aims to restrict worship outside private spaces, banning its practice in public institutions such as government offices, hospitals, and military barracks.

The bill, approved by the Council of Ministers on March 19, has ignited fierce opposition, particularly among Sunni Muslim communities, with Imam Kindo as a prominent critic. His arrest, which occurred the day before Eid al-Adha, triggered protests where hundreds of worshippers took to the streets. Clashes with security forces erupted in the capital, marked by tear gas deployments and aggressive crowd dispersals in the city center.