Burkina Faso - December 2025

On 4 December 2025, the Council of Ministers adopted draft legislation that would reinstate the death penalty for offences including terrorism, espionage and high treason. The death penalty was abolished in 2018, and the last known judicial execution took place in 1988. The bill still required approval by the Transitional Legislative Assembly (and further legal review) before entering into force. Rights advocates criticised the move as a serious setback that risked entrenching a climate of fear, particularly against the backdrop of a widening crackdown on dissent and restrictions on civic space since the transition began.

Sources: Burkina24, Associated Press, International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International