Burkina Faso’s military government has restored the death penalty, eight years after the country abolished it.
On October 20, 2026, the unelected People’s Legislative Assembly voted unanimously all 71 members to approve a revised penal code.
Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala presented the changes, which make several serious crimes punishable by death again: terrorism (including for accomplices), espionage, treason, k*lling a parent or close relative, and importing expired or banned products that end up k*lling people.
The government says the move is meant to restore order, protect the public, and toughen the justice system against the jihadist violence that has plagued the country for years. Groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have killed thousands and forced many people from their homes. Officials argue that the old, softer penalties even helped militants recruit.
Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who took power in a 2022 coup, had already signaled this was coming. In a September interview he said spies and traitors would face the death penalty without mercy, adding that “sentimentalism is over.”
Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988. It formally abolished capital punishment in 2018 under the previous civilian president.
Amnesty International had warned against bringing it back, pointing to the risk of mistakes and unfair trials. No new executions have been announced yet that will depend on how the courts and security forces actually apply the law.