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The military court´s prosecution is requesting 30 years for former president Blaise Compaoré for his connection with the assassination of former president Thomas Sankara while ten other former military officers are also being prosecuted.
Burkina Faso's former president, Blaise Compaoré, faces a 30-year prison sentence on Tuesday in his trial for his links to the assassination of former president Thomas Sankara, according to local media reports.
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Campaoré is in exile in the Ivory Coast, to which he fled in 2014 following popular protests against his attempt to amend the constitution to make himself permanent in power with new attempts to run again.
The country's authorities issued an international warrant for the former president's arrest in 2015. This February 8, the court confirmed the validity of that warrant.
Sankara was assassinated in 1987, four years after assuming his mandate during which he implemented a literacy program, gave land to peasants, promoted the construction of railroads and roads, banned female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy.
A military prosecutor in Ouaga calls for 30- and 20-year imprisonment for ex-President Blaise Compare and Gen. Gilbert Diendere respectively for their involvement in the 1987 assassination of Burkina Faso’s revolutionary president, Capt. Thomas Sankara. https://t.co/7GWks9TX5X
— Katarina Höije (@katarinah) February 8, 2022
At the same time, he diverted his country from the influence of France, the colonial power that plundered Burkina Faso, and distanced himself from international credit institutions in order to preserve the country's independence.
A group of ten individuals, mostly ex-military, are linked to the assassination. One of them, General Gilbert Diendere, previously tried in 2015 for the military coup, is facing 20 years in prison.
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