Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Da Silva: What is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is a genocide
Da Silva: Even the Jewish people do not want this war; it is revenge by a government against the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state
Brazilian President Lula da Silva: What we are seeing is not a war between two armies. [What we have is a] completely professional army that is killing women and children in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: We affirm our readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention
Hamas: We welcome the continued Qatari and Egyptian efforts to end the war waged by the Zionist occupation against our people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces blew up Noura Al-Kaabi Hospital, designated for kidney dialysis patients, in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone targets a car on the Ayta al-Shaab-Debel road in southern Lebanon
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The remaining airlines that have not yet complied with the ban are urged to take this into serious consideration to ensure the safety of their aircraft and passengers
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The YAF, after successfully imposing a partial ban on air traffic at Lydd Airport, are now working to impose a full ban on air traffic at the aforementioned airport in the coming period
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: YAF's UAV Unit carried out three military operations targeting three vital Israeli sites in the occupied Palestinian areas of Yafa, Isdud, and Umm al-Rashrash, using three drones

Ex-Burkina Faso President sentenced to life over Sankara murder

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 6 Apr 2022 17:45
3 Min Read

The Ouagadougou Military Court in Burkina Faso has sentenced the country's ex-President and two others to life imprisonment for murdering revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara.

  • x
  • The court issued life terms to Hyacinthe Kafando and General Gilbert Diendere
    Discussing the leftwing icon's death was taboo throughout the 27-year reign of Compaore.

A military court in Burkina Faso on Wednesday handed down a life term to former President Blaise Compaore over the 1987 assassination of revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara.

Applause erupted in the courtroom as the long-awaited verdict was read out, bringing the curtain down on a case that has afflicted the impoverished and volatile state for 34 years.

The court also issued life terms to Hyacinthe Kafando, an officer suspected of having led the hit squad, and General Gilbert Diendere, an army commander at the time of the assassination, which coincided with a coup that brought Compaore to power.

Compaore, who lives in exile in Ivory Coast after being toppled by public protests in 2014, and Kafando, who has been on the run since 2016, were tried in absentia.

A fiery revolutionary who blasted the West for neo-colonialism and hypocrisy, Sankara was shot dead on October 15, 1987, little more than four years after coming to power as an army captain aged just 33.

He and 12 colleagues were killed by a hit squad at a meeting of the ruling National Revolutionary Council.

Discussing the leftwing icon's death was taboo throughout the 27-year reign of Compaore, Sankara's comrade-in-arms.

Related News

Burkina Faso's military junta claims to thwart ‘total chaos’ attempt

Algeria closes airspace to Mali, recalls ambassadors over drone row

The court in the capital Ouagadougou found Compaore, Kafando, and Diendere all guilty of harming state security.

Details about the assassination

Compaore and Diendere were also found guilty of complicity in murder, and Kafando of murder. Their sentences exceeded the request of military prosecutors.

They had sought 30 years for Compaore and Kafando and 20 years for Diendere, who is already serving a 20-year term over an attempted military coup in 2015.

Eight other accused were given jail terms ranging from three to 20 years, while three defendants were acquitted.

In its closing statement, the prosecution recounted in detail a plot to ambush Sankara and his closest followers.

Sankara headed to the National Revolutionary Council meeting for a rendezvous with death, for "his executioners were already there," it said.

After Sankara entered the meeting room, the hit squad burst in, killing his guards, the prosecution said. 

"The squad then ordered president Sankara and his colleagues to leave the room. They would then be killed one by one."

Ballistics experts told the trial Sankara had been shot in the chest at least seven times by assassins using tracer rounds.

  • Burkina Faso
  • Africa
  • Thomas Sankara
  • Ouagadougou

Most Read

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
MIT bans class president who gave pro-Palestine speech
US & Canada

MIT bans class president over pro-Palestine speech

Arab ministers condemn Israel 'ban' on planned West Bank visit
Politics

Arab ministers condemn Israeli ban on planned West Bank visit

Major General Hu Gangfeng, Vice President, National Defense University, People's Liberation Army, China, leaves after a panel discussion during the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Politics

China blasts Hegseth, calls US top 'troublemaker' in Asia-Pacific

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: Reports
Technology

US activists demand shutdown of Musk's 'dirty' supercomputer: NBC News

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS