A long-awaited trial in Burkina Faso over the 1987 assassination of revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara is being suspended until “the restoration of the constitution”, a court said Monday, a week after a military coup.
The trial of Sankara’s alleged killers was to resume at a military court in the capital Ouagadougou on Monday.
But Judge Urbain Meda announced the hearing was suspended and told parties “to remain alert for the resumption, which will be after the restoration of the constitution”.
He made the announcement after civil parties in the case called for a suspension pending “judicial normalisation” by Burkina’s new ruling junta.
“Civilian plaintiffs feel that a trial has to take place within a reasonable time, but we do not want a trial (with) flaws,” said lawyer Prosper Farama, representing the Sankara family.
The trial opened last October and has been closely followed by the Burkinabe public.
It has been showcased as the chance to shed light on one of the murkiest chapters in the troubled country’s history.
