- Burkina Faso's legislature has unanimously voted to reinstate capital punishment six years after it was abolished, adopting a new penal code for the West African nation.
- All 71 members of parliament voted in favour of the new penal code, which reintroduces the death penalty for crimes including terrorism, espionage, and treason.
- The move reverses the 2018 abolition enacted under former president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, although the country's last recorded execution took place in 1988.
- Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the decision, warning that the ruling military junta will use capital punishment to suppress political dissent.
- The reinstatement comes as Burkina Faso grapples with an escalating security crisis involving militant groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State, with both government forces and insurgents accused of war crimes.
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