Burkina Faso Restores the Death Penalty, and Not One Lawmaker Said No
All 71 members backed a penal code restoring capital punishment for offenses including terrorism and high treason. The reversal comes eight years after abolition for ordinary crimes, amid warnings about unfair trials and repression under military rule.
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by Sami Haddad
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Burkina Faso's unelected legislature has voted unanimously to restore the death penalty, reversing its 2018 abolition for ordinary crimes as military rulers expand restrictions on political life.
All 71 members voted for the revised penal code on October 20, according to Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala, who presented the bill. The Justice Ministry announced its adoption.
The code makes offenses including high treason, terrorism and espionage punishable by death, according to Human Rights Watch. Its account also lists parricide, the killing of a parent, and importing expired or prohibited products.
The government says capital punishment is needed to combat terrorism. Human Rights Watch warns that it could give the authorities another means of suppressing dissent in a country where the military has already curtailed political and civic rights. The country's last known judicial execution was in 1988.
The vote establishes the legislature's decision, but the date the provisions take effect and the procedures governing death sentences have not been confirmed. The exact wording of the importation offense, including whether the products must cause death, is also unconfirmed and must be checked against the adopted code.
