Burkina Faso: Blaise Compaoré on trial for the murder of Thomas Sankara

The former President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, is to be tried for the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara, killed in 1987. Blaise Compaoré, who came to power after the 1987 coup, was forced to resign and is now in exile in Côte d’Ivoire.

While in Côte d’Ivoire, where he had taken refuge after being forced to resign by the people, the former Burkinabe President, Blaise Compaoré, will be tried for the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara. The former leader, who holds Ivorian nationality, cannot be extradited. He will be tried in absentia.

« This morning we attended the deliberation of the chamber of control of the investigation, which referred the case to trial … It is essentially Blaise Compaore and 13 others, accused of attack on state security … Complicity in murder and complicity in receiving corpses, » said AFP Guy Hervé Kam, a lawyer for the civil party.

« The time for justice has finally come, a trial can begin. It is therefore up to the military prosecutor to schedule a hearing date, » the lawyer added. For his part, Mathieu Somé, lawyer for General Gilbert Diendéré, said that « the case is referred to court, the trial date « is not yet decided, » adding that « the warrants for the accused not yet detained were ordered this morning.

Indeed, among the defendants, General Gilbert Diendéré, army officer at the time of the 1987 coup. Currently imprisoned in Burkina Faso where he is serving a 20-year prison sentence for a coup attempt in 2015, General Diendéré had become the chief of staff of Blaise Compaoré. Other soldiers of the former presidential guard of Blaise Compaoré are also being prosecuted.