Burkina Faso brings back death penalty for terrorism, treason and espionage

Burkina Faso has reinstated the death penalty for offences including terrorism, treason and espionage after lawmakers unanimously approved a new penal code, reversing the West African country's abolition of capital punishment in 2018.

According to the Associated Press (AP), all 71 members of the country's legislature voted in favour of the revised penal code on Tuesday, October 20, following an announcement by Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala.

The decision marks a major change in Burkina Faso's criminal justice system under military leader Ibrahim Traoré, who has ruled the country since taking power in a 2022 coup.

The death penalty had been abolished under former democratically elected president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré in 2018.

However, the latest legislative decision restores capital punishment for a range of serious offences, including crimes linked to national security.

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The reinstatement has drawn criticism from human rights organisations, which have raised concerns about the effectiveness of capital punishment and its potential implications for human rights.

Human Rights Watch condemned the move, arguing that the death penalty has not proved effective as a deterrent against crime.

“The failure of the death penalty as a crime deterrent has been globally acknowledged, and the military junta in Burkina Faso should maintain the prohibition on its use,” Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch, told the Associated Press.

The organisation has urged Burkina Faso's authorities to maintain the prohibition on executions rather than return to capital punishment.

According to AP, the government's Council of Ministers approved a bill to reinstate the death penalty in December, prompting objections from rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The organisations criticised the proposed change and expressed concerns about its implications for civil liberties and the treatment of people accused of serious offences.

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Despite the death penalty remaining part of the country's legal history, Burkina Faso has not carried out a known execution for decades.

Human Rights Watch says the country's last known execution took place in 1988, approximately 30 years before capital punishment was formally abolished in 2018.

The reinstatement therefore represents a significant shift in the country's approach to the most serious criminal offences.

However, the approval of the new penal code does not, by itself, establish that executions will immediately resume.

Further details about the implementation of the revised provisions were not included in the Associated Press report.

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The decision comes amid broader concerns raised by rights organisations over the military authorities' treatment of critics, journalists and civil society groups.

Since taking power in 2022, Traoré's administration has faced allegations of restricting dissent through the detention of human rights defenders and journalists, as well as measures affecting political organisations.

The authorities have also dissolved political parties and imposed restrictions on media outlets, unions and civil society groups, according to the AP report.

Allegrozzi further alleged that critics of the authorities had faced unlawful conscription, torture and enforced disappearances. The report also noted that the United Nations human rights agency had been forced to leave the country.

These allegations have contributed to wider concerns about political freedoms and the protection of fundamental rights under military rule.

The reinstatement of capital punishment adds another dimension to those concerns, particularly regarding how the law will be applied and what safeguards will be available to people accused of offences punishable by death.

Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa with a population of approximately 23 million, continues to face a prolonged security crisis involving armed groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

The violence has placed significant pressure on the country's security institutions and successive administrations, with authorities continuing operations against militant groups.

The government has pursued measures intended to address insecurity, while human rights organisations have raised concerns about the impact of security policies on civilians and political freedoms.

The reinstatement of the death penalty comes against this backdrop, although the revised code also covers offences such as treason and espionage.

How the new provisions will be implemented, and whether they will lead to a resumption of executions after decades without a known case, remains a key question.