Burkina Faso parliament votes to restore death penalty

Burkina Faso’s parliament has adopted a revised penal code that restores the death penalty, nearly a decade after the West African country abolished capital punishment, the Justice Ministry said in a statement (Reuters).

The 71-member assembly voted unanimously for the legislation on Tuesday after Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala presented the bill on behalf of the government, the ministry said.

The revised code reintroduces the death penalty for crimes including terrorism, espionage and treason, as well as importing expired or banned products that result in death, state-run media reported. Bayala argued that the relative lenience of the previous penal code had helped armed groups recruit fighters.

The government has presented the change as part of its response to a long-running Islamist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

The move has drawn criticism from rights groups. Human Rights Watch said, when the Council of Ministers first approved the bill last year, that reinstating the death penalty could deepen repression, entrench a climate of fear and send a chilling message to critics of the military government.

Burkina Faso abolished the death penalty in 2018. Its last known judicial execution was in 1988, according to Amnesty International.