International
2 generals bag lengthy jail terms in Burkina Faso for masterminding 2015 coup
Two generals in Burkina Faso have been slammed with lengthy jail terms for masterminding a coup carried out by troops loyal to deposed President Blaise Compaore in 2015.
A military court in the capital of Ouagadougou, sentenced General Gilbert Diendere to a 20-year prison term on Monday on charges of murder and harming state security.
His accomplice, General Djibrill Bassole, accused of treason, was given a 10-year prison sentence for his role in the coup.
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Diendere and Bassole were the leading figures in a 19-month trial of 84 people accused of the attempted overthrow of Burkina’s transitional government.
According to Herve Kam, a lawyer representing civilian plaintiffs, said the trial had served the purposes of transparency.
“Today, we know who did what and, especially, why.”
Fourteen people were killed and more than 300 wounded during the unrest which had traumatic consequences for Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries with a history of chronic instability.
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