PRESS RELEASE
It is with anger and great concern that we learn that there is no longer any investigation in Burkina Faso concerning the international aspect of the assassination of Thomas Sankara and his companions.
We recall that Judge François Yaméogo closed the file on the national elements of the case in October 2020 in order to organise the trial. The procedures concerning the international elements of the case and the domestic inquiry were separated. He was then called to other duties at the beginning of 2021.
A new investigating judge was appointed at that time in Ouagadougou. But he too was called to other duties.
Since then, no other judge has been appointed to continue the investigation. However, a large batch of new documents were forwarded by the French authorities in April 2021.
So far, the trial has gone smoothly despite the destabilisation of large areas of the country by UAM (Unidentified Armed Men).
However, after a short interruption in the aftermath of the 24 January coup d’état, the country’s new administrators, by authorising the resumption of the trial on Wednesday 2 February 2022, seemed to show their willingness not to obstruct its continuation.
Despite the denigrations uttered by Mr. Blaise Compaoré’s defence counsel, Burkina Faso showed the world that it has the capacity to organise a trial of this scale.
But it is unacceptable that the international investigation has been halted, for almost a year without any reprise in view.
We demand that the judicial authorities of Burkina Faso do their duty by taking the necessary measures to ensure that the judicial inquiry resumes. Their credibility is in the balance
And we call on all women and men, human rights organisations, political parties and civil society to mobilise in the cause of justice, so that the investigation into the international aspect of the assassination of Thomas Sankara and his companions be resumed forthwith.
Done in Ouagadougou, Niamey, Paris, Barcelona, Oxford, Basel, Sabadel, Turin, Ottawa, Las Palmas, Bobo Dioulasso, Banfora, Montpellier, Toulouse, Grenoble, Nîmes, Ajaccio on 7 February 2022
The International Network Justice for Sankara Justice for Africa
