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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Apr 2022 : 00:16:17
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RELATED.
https://www.dw.com/en/burkina-faso-ex-leader-compaore-sentenced-to-life-over-sankara-assassination/a-61381317
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https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/headlines/burkina-faso-ex-leader-compaore-sentenced-to-life-over-sankara-assassination
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Burkina Faso ex-leader Compaore sentenced to life over Sankara assassination
Apr 7, 2022, 11:30 AM
Former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder of pan-African leader Thomas Sankara, nearly three decades after the fact.
Compaore, who is in exile, was tried and sentenced in absentia by a military tribunal sitting on Wednesday.
The former strongman was sentenced along with his then-security chief, Hyacinthe Kafando, who also received a life term.
The tribunal, which began last October, found the men "guilty of attack on state security, complicity in murder and concealment of a corpse."
Mariam Sankara sits in a courtroom where 14 people stand trial for her Sankara's death
Mariam Sankara has been vocal about getting justice for her late husband
Sankara's widow Mariam Sankara said she was "satisfied" with the verdict, although she "wished" Compaore and Kafando were present.
"It is not good that people kill other people and stop the process of development of a country without being punished," she told reporters.
Source: DW
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 08 Apr 2022 00:21:41 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2022 : 11:55:02
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From the BBC:
Thomas Sankara murder: Ex-Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré found guilty
 Burkina Faso's former President Blaise Compaoré has received a life sentence in absentia for his role in the assassination of his charismatic predecessor, Thomas Sankara.
Sankara, 37, was gunned down along with 12 others during the 1987 coup d'état that brought Compaoré to power.
The pair had been close friends and had jointly seized power in 1983.
Sankara remains a hero for many across Africa because of his anti-imperialist stance and austere lifestyle.
After seizing power at the age of just 33, the Marxist revolutionary known by some as "Africa's Che Guevara", campaigned against corruption and oversaw huge increases in education and health spending.
'Africa's Che Guevara': Thomas Sankara's legacy
The prosecution said Sankara was lured to his death at a meeting of the ruling National Revolutionary Council.
He was shot in the chest at least seven times, according to ballistics experts who testified during the trial.
BBC West Africa correspondent Lalla Sy says the verdict was greeted by applause in the courtroom following the six-month trial that came after years of campaigning for justice by his family and supporters.
Sankara's widow, Mariam Sankara, who attended the trial throughout, said the verdict represented "justice and truth" after a 35-year wait.
"Our goal was for the political violence we have in Burkina Faso to come to end. This verdict will give many people cause for thought."
However, there is little prospect that Compaoré will serve his sentence any time soon.
He has lived in exile in Ivory Coast since he was removed from office following mass protests in 2014, and has taken up Ivorian nationality.
He previously denounced the trial by a military court as a political sham...........
Read more at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61008332
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Former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore.
