By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Burkina Faso has rejected claims by Ivorian authorities that a Burkinabé activist died of suicide while in detention, alleging “assassination” of Alain Traoré, popularly known as Alino Faso.
Traoré was arrested six months ago in Ivory Coast, on charges of espionage. On Saturday however, Ivory Coast announced that the 44-year-old had taken his own life two days earlier, while being held in a military facility.
The government “rejects the suicide theory”, Burkina Faso information minister said, while Traoré’s supporters accuse Ivory Coast of carrying out “a cover-up for political repression”.
The late Traoré, aka Alino Faso was a prominent advocate of the military-led governments in Burkina Faso and other countries across the Sahel region.
He led a huge community online – on Facebook alone he had more than 400,000 followers.
When he was arrested in January, human rights groups and his supporters said the charges against him were politically motivated.
Burkinabé Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré in response to the death has called for “full light to be shed on this tragedy” and demanded Traoré’s body be flown to Burkina Faso.
He criticised the Ivorian authorities for announcing Traoré’s death in a public statement on social media, as against contacting his family first.
“There is a great deal of contempt, a lack of respect and courtesy for the authorities and the people of Burkina Faso, and it is even more so for the family of the deceased who discovered such painful news on social media,” the foreign minister said.
He added that on Monday, he summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Ivorian Embassy in Burkina Faso in order to obtain verbal confirmation of Traoré’s death.
Prosecutors in Ivory Coast have said probe into the “motives and circumstances” of Traoré’s “suicide” was under way.
Traoré had moved from Burkina Faso to Ivory Coast with his family in 2021 where he operated a restaurant.
He had also been involved in organising humanitarian interventions for displaced civilians.
Rights groups had accused the Ivorian authorities of violating international human rights laws and detaining Traoré under inhumane conditions.
