The head of Burkina Faso’s ruling junta has granted a pardon to 21 soldiers convicted for their involvement in the failed 2015 coup, according to an official decree released on Monday.
Burkina Faso has been under military rule since September 2022, when Captain Ibrahim Traore led a coup. In December 2024, Traore announced an “amnesty pardon” for several individuals convicted over the 2015 attempt to overthrow the transitional government, which was established after former President Blaise Compaore was ousted.
The decree, issued last week, grants amnesty to 21 soldiers convicted for their roles in the coup attempt on September 15 and 16, 2015. Among those pardoned are six officers, including two former commanders of the presidential guard, along with 15 non-commissioned officers and rank-and-file soldiers.
These individuals had been sentenced in 2019 by a military tribunal in Ouagadougou for charges including undermining state security, murder, and treason.
However, two generals considered the masterminds behind the failed coup—former chief of staff Gilbert Diendere and former head of diplomacy Djibril Bassole—were sentenced to 20 and 10 years in prison, respectively. They are not included in the amnesty.
The convicted soldiers have until June to apply for a pardon, provided they demonstrate a commitment to national unity and pledge to actively participate in the fight against terrorism.
The pardoned soldiers will be reinstated into the army, which has been engaged in combating jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS for over a decade. However, they will not be entitled to compensation or career advancement.
Diendere and Bassole had attempted to overthrow the transitional government that took power after Compaore’s removal in October 2014, following his 27-year rule. The coup was thwarted within two weeks, resulting in 14 deaths and 270 injuries.
In December 2024, the justice ministry announced that nearly 1,200 people convicted in connection with the coup attempt would be pardoned starting January 1.
AFP
