Burkino Faso abolishes the death penalty

Burkina Faso’s parliament has adopted a new penal code which abolishes the death penalty.

Justice minister Rene Bagoro said it would clear the way for “more credible, equitable, effective justice in the application of criminal law”.

Many rights movements, including Amnesty International and Catholic Church activists have pressed the government for a decade to remove the death penalty from criminal statutes.

Local media believe that this move will pave the way for the extradition from France of Francois Compaore, the younger brother of former Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaore, who was ousted in 2014.

Mr Compaore fled and was later arrested in France in connection with the murder of a journalist,