Burkina Faso activist Alino Faso’s body returned home after death in Abidjan detention cell
Hundreds of men and women, dressed in white, marched from the Thomas Sankara Memorial to the Ivorian embassy, carrying placards and chanting demands for accountability over the activist’s death in detention.
Côte d'Ivoire has repatriated the body of prominent Burkinabè activist Alain Christophe Traoré, widely known as Alino Faso, whose suspicious death in an Abidjan detention cell in late July sparked national outrage.
On Monday, renewed calls for justice erupted in Ouagadougou as Faso’s remains arrived from Abidjan.
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Hundreds of men and women, dressed in white, marched from the Thomas Sankara Memorial to the Ivorian embassy, carrying placards and chanting demands for accountability over the activist’s death in detention.
According to Ivorian authorities, Faso—who had been arrested more than six months ago on espionage charges—allegedly took his own life in late July while held at a military detention camp. The announcement drew sharp condemnation from Burkina Faso.
Faso had built a large following for his outspoken support of military juntas in Burkina Faso and other Sahel nations, regimes locked in disputes with ECOWAS over their refusal to restore democratic rule.
His supporters and the Burkinabè government have rejected claims of suicide, insisting that Faso was assassinated and calling for a swift, transparent investigation.
"There is a great deal of contempt, a lack of respect and courtesy for the authorities and the people of Burkina Faso, and it is even more so for the family of the deceased who discovered such painful news on social media," Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister, Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, said in July.
The minister also criticised the Ivorian government for announcing Faso’s death on social media before informing his family.
Burkina Faso has vowed to hold those responsible accountable, while human rights groups warn the case could further strain relations with Côte d'Ivoire and highlight growing concerns over dissent and detention practices in West Africa.
Meanwhile, Ivorian authorities maintain the case is under investigation and continue to describe the death as a suicide.
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