Burkina Faso's parliament votes to restore the death penalty

As of 3:12 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026

Burkina Faso's parliament adopted a revised penal code on Tuesday that restores the death penalty, nearly a decade after the West African country abolished capital punishment, the Justice Ministry said in a statement, Reuters reported.

The revised code reintroduces the death penalty for crimes including terrorism, espionage, treason and importing expired or banned products that result in death, state-run media reported, according to Reuters.

The 71-member assembly voted unanimously for the legislation after Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala presented the bill on behalf of the government, the ministry said, according to Reuters.

Why the government says it wants the change

Burkina Faso has struggled for years to contain an Islamist insurgency linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, Reuters reported. The government has presented the change as part of its response to that insurgency, and Bayala said the relative lenience of the previous penal code helped armed groups recruit members, according to Reuters.

Rights groups' concerns

The move puts the government at odds with rights groups that say the death penalty could be used against critics, Reuters reported. When the Council of Ministers first approved the bill last year, Human Rights Watch said reinstating the death penalty could deepen repression, entrench a climate of fear and send a chilling message to critics of the military government, according to Reuters.

Burkina Faso abolished the death penalty in 2018. Its last known judicial execution was in 1988, according to Amnesty International, Reuters reported.