Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe’s pre-trial detention extended by six months

Between December 2025 and January 2026, human rights defender Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe appeared twice before the Investigation Commission of the Court for the Suppression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET). This concluded with, among others, the extension of his pre-trial detention by six months. In the preceding months, he had not been permitted visits from his lawyers. On 26 December 2025, Sosoukpe was granted a few minutes to consult with his lawyers just before the hearing began. The next hearing took place on 12 January 2026 without notifying his lawyers, who could therefore not represent him in court. The extension of Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe’s detention violates national law, which stipulates that pre-trial detention must not exceed six months. He has been in pre-trial detention since 14 July 2025.

Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe is a journalist, whistle blower, and committed human rights defender. He is the director of the online media outlet Olofofo and was Secretary General and spokesperson for the Beninese Association of Web Activists (ABWA). He has shown a consistent commitment to defending human rights and promoting democracy and good governance in Benin.

On 11 July 2025, the human rights defender was abducted by local police officers in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and transferred to Benin, where he was handed over to the Beninese authorities. The human rights defender had been living in Togo since 2019, where he was issued a refugee status in 2021. On 14 July 2025, Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe was placed in pre-trial detention and accused of ‘inciting rebellion’, ‘inciting hatred and violence’, ‘electronic harassment’, and ‘condoning terrorism.’

On 26 December 2025, Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe denounced before the CRIET the conditions he had been held in, particularly his isolation and inability to receive visits from lawyers and family members. Following this hearing, one of his lawyers was granted a communication permit which allows visiting the human rights defender in detention. At the hearing, his lawyers also requested that Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe can resume his right to two hours of daily exercise, as the suspension of this right has exacerbated the conditions of his detention. The presiding judge declared he would address this request but has yet to take action on this issue. On 12 January 2026, Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe was brought before the CRIET again. His lawyers were not notified of the hearing and, consequently, were not present at the Court to represent the human rights defender. At this hearing, the judicial authorities extended the pre-trial detention period for another six months until June 2026.

Finally, since 27 February 2026, the human rights defender's family was informed that they had been granted visiting rights, in accordance with the rules governing visits to special detainees such as specific visiting days and hours as stipulated by law.

It is worth noting that, on 25 January 2026, one of the lawyers on Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe’s legal defence team, Dossou Stanic Adjacotan, was arrested at Cardinal Bernadin Gantin International Airport upon his arrival in Cotonou. He was taken into police custody and brought before the CRIET on 30 January 2026. Dossou Stanic Adjacotan was released after the hearing and the case was referred to the police for further investigation. The CRIET prosecutor charged him with « apologie de coup d’État » (advocating for a coup d’État). While the allegation is connected to the coup attempt in Benin on 7 December 2025, there appears to be no evidence to justify the charges against Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe’s lawyer, nor any reports of the lawyer’s involvement in the coup. Front Line Defenders is concerned that he may be facing retaliation for his work defending Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe.

Front Line Defenders remains concerned over the detention of human rights defender and journalist Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe, and reiterates its calls for his immediate and unconditional release. Front Line Defenders believe he is being charged and held in retaliation for his legitimate work in defense of human rights. Front Line Defenders expresses additional concern over the targeting of Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe’s lawyer, which highlights the increasingly hostile environment, restrictions on civic and democratic space, and abductions faced by human rights defenders in the region.

On 14 July 2025, journalist and human rights defender Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe was brought before the Judge for Liberty and Detention at the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET) in Cotonou and placed in provisional detention in the civil prison of Ouidah. According to the provisional detention order signed on 14 July, he has been charged with incitement to rebellion, incitement to hatred and violence, harassment by electronic means, and apology of terrorism.

Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe is the director of the online media outlet Olofofo and former Secretary General and spokesperson of the Beninese Association of Web Activists (ABWA). After exposing the Beninese authorities, particularly following the 2019 elections, he was forced to flee the country and has been living in Togo ever since, where he holds official refugee status since 2021. A consistent defender of human rights, he continued to promote democracy and good governance in Benin through his journalism.

On 11 July 2025, Hugues Complan Sosoukpe was abducted by local police officers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and sent to Benin, to be handed to Beninese authorities. He was in the country for the Ivoire Tech Forum at the invitation of the Ivorian Ministry of Digital Transition and Digitalisation. Authorities in both Côte d’Ivoire and Benin have failed to issue any public statement regarding the circumstances of his arrest, transfer, or detention.

Front Line Defenders stresses that the proceedings took place in clear disregard of international refugee protection protocols and fair trial guarantees. Furthermore, limited communication with his family members is raising further concerns, not only about the human rights defender’s right to a fair trial, but also his physical and psychological integrity.

Front Line Defenders reiterates its calls for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist and human rights defender Hugues Comlan Sosoukpe, and for the Beninese government to drop all charges against him. Front Line Defenders believe these charges are in retaliation for his legitimate work.