Burkina Faso’s Legislature Unanimously Reinstates Death Penalty for Certain Offenses

On October 20, 2026, Burkina Faso reinstated the death penalty for certain offenses, such as terrorism, espionage, high treason, parricide, and importing expired or banned products that result in death. The 71-member transitional People’s Legislative Assembly unanimously passed legislation to revise the penal code, which was presented to the legislature by Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue​Bayala. The bill was first adopted by the military junta’s Council of Ministers on December 4, 2025. According to Amnesty International, the country had previously abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 2018 and last carried out an execution in 1988. 

Justice Minister Bayala contextualized the reinstatement of the death penalty as a tool in addressing the nation’s decades-long security crisis, as reported by the state-owned Burkina Information Agency (AIB). “We have seen on the ground that these terrorists recruit by promising candidates that, even if they were arrested as perpetrators or accomplices in acts of terrorism, they would not risk much more than life imprisonment,” he said. “We have therefore reviewed the legal framework so that all acts related to terrorism, whether as perpetrator or accomplice, are punishable by death.” In a nearly four-minute clip, Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina shared citizens’ reactions to the reinstatement of the death penalty — all of which was favorable; citizens largely focused on their belief in the deterrent effect of the punishment. However, United Nations’ experts and officials have consistently and repeatedly emphasized that there is no evidence to support a special deterrent effect for the death penalty. 

In a statement condemning the decision, the Geneva-based Committee for Justice (CfJ) pushed against the government narrative, emphasizing that “capital punishment is neither a substitute for effective criminal investigations nor a solution to the country’s security crisis.” The statement explained that “addressing terrorism and serious criminal offences requires lawful, proportionate and effective measures that respect human dignity, due process and international human rights obligations.” 

Senior Sahel Researcher at Human Rights Watch, Ilaria Allegrozzi, echoed these sentiments warning that the reinstatement “sends a chilling message to critics of the military junta and risks becoming another tool to suppress dissent.” Ms. Allegrozzi explained that the “unfairness of death sentences in Burkina Faso would be exacerbated by the country’s ill-equipped justice system,” highlighting documented procedural failures and delays by the Specialized Judicial Unit Against Terrorism-Related Crimes that handles all terrorism-related cases. 

Burkina Faso is currently governed by a military junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré who seized power in a 2022 military coup. His rule has been marked by anti-imperialist rhetoric, with some drawing similarities to the first President of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara — a military officer and pan-African revolutionary who assumed power in 1983 through a military coup and was later assassinated in 1987. Interim President Traoré’s military government has decreased ties with its former colonial power France, including expelling troops, and has instead deepened ties with Russia, including the deployment of a paramilitary brigade, according to the BBC. Some changes to domestic policies have included creating a state-owned mining company, nationalizing foreign-owned gold mines, increasing investment in staple crops, and promoting infrastructure projects. In terms of addressing ongoing security concerns, his government has armed tens of thousands of civilians as part of a state-backed civilian force called the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, a measure that has come under criticism; for example, the International Crisis Group reports that the actions of these troops “paradoxically contribute to escalating violence through the alleged crimes that some of them commit against civilians, sparking retaliatory cycles among armed factions.” Human rights groups have called out the current administration’s restrictions on political freedoms, which has entailed dissolving all political parties and narrowing press freedoms. BTI’s Transformation Index summarized in their 2026 country report that “while there has been some progress in the economic and security sectors, the quality of democratic governance has significantly deteriorated, raising concerns about the country’s long-term trajectory.”