By Ebi Kesiena
Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has granted amnesty to 21 soldiers convicted for their involvement in the failed 2015 coup, according to an official decree seen by AFP on Monday.
The decision aligns with Traoré’s December 2022 announcement of an “amnesty pardon” for individuals convicted in connection with the attempted overthrow of the transitional government, which was established following the ousting of former President Blaise Compaoré.
The decree, issued last week, names six officers, including two former commanders of the presidential guard, alongside 15 non-commissioned officers and rank-and-file soldiers. These individuals were convicted in 2019 by a military tribunal in Ouagadougou for offences including “harming state security,” murder, and treason.
However, two key figures in the failed coup, Compaoré’s former chief of staff, General Gilbert Diendéré, and head of diplomacy Djibril Bassolé, who received sentences of 20 and 10 years in prison, respectively, were excluded from the amnesty.
Those pardoned are expected to rejoin the army, which has been battling jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State for over a decade. However, the decree specifies that they will not be entitled to compensation or career advancement.
Convicts seeking pardon must demonstrate “patriotic commitment to the reconquest of the territory” and actively participate in the fight against terrorism.
The justice ministry had previously announced in December that around 1,200 individuals linked to the coup attempt would be pardoned starting 1 January.
The 2015 coup attempt, led by loyalists to Compaoré, was swiftly quashed by loyalist forces within two weeks, resulting in 14 deaths and 270 injuries.
