DAKAR, Senegal (AP) 鈥� Council of Ministers has adopted a bill to restore the death penalty, targeting offenses such as treason, terrorism and espionage, authorities said.
鈥淭he adoption of this bill is part of reforms … to have a justice that responds to the deep aspirations of our people,鈥� Minister of Justice Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said in a Facebook post late Thursday.
The death penalty was abolished in the country in 2018.
The bill has to be adopted by parliament and reviewed by the courts before becoming law.
Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International鈥檚 Regional Director for West and Central Africa, called the move a 鈥渟erious setback for human rights in Burkina Faso,鈥� and alarming 鈥渋n the context of the ongoing crackdown on political opponents, human rights activists and journalists in Burkina Faso.鈥�
Since taking power in a 2022 coup, the West African country鈥檚 military leaders have launched sweeping reforms, including and .
Burkina Faso has increasingly silenced critical media outlets in recent years. It radio stations for their coverage of a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country鈥檚 armed forces as well as earlier this year.
The country is one of where the military has with previous democratically elected governments over security issues. The military government has been accused of and the detention of journalists critical of the government.
The landlocked nation of 23 million people is among countries struggling with a security crisis in the arid region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from groups linked to and the .
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