The French government has authorized the extradition of François Compaoré to Burkina Faso, where this brother of the ousted former president is implicated in the investigation into the 1998 murder of a journalist, AFP learned on Thursday with Matignon. The extradition decree of Blaise Compaoré's younger brother, driven out by the street after 27 years in power at the end of October 2014, was signed by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, according to this source. It has yet to be published in the Official Journal.
Read also: Sahel: Burkina Faso plagued by violence
Contacted by AFP, François Compaoré's lawyer, Me Pierre-Olivier Sur, refused to make any comments for the time being. This decree remains subject to appeal to the Council of State. In June 2019, the Court of Cassation had dismissed François Compaoré's appeal against his extradition to Ouagadougou, where the Zongo file, classified in 2003 after a “dismissal” in favor of the only accused, was reopened in favor of the fall of his brother, Blaise Compaoré.
A recognized investigative journalist and director of the weekly L'Indépendant , Norbert Zongo was assassinated on December 13, 1998, while investigating the murder of François Compaoré's driver. His death had caused a deep political crisis in the "land of upright men". The 49-year-old journalist, author of several resounding investigations denouncing bad governance under the Compaoré regime, had been killed with three of his companions. The four bodies had been found calcined in the south of Burkina Faso.
Read also: Blaise Compaoré, the former overt couper
François Compaoré was arrested at Roissy airport in October 2017, in execution of an arrest warrant issued by the Ouagadougou authorities. But to date, he has not been charged in his country, unlike three ex-soldiers of the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP), the former Praetorian guard of Blaise Compaoré.
"It is a decisive turning point which has just been crossed in the quest for justice and the manifestation of the truth about this affair which has only lasted too long , " reacted Guy Zongo, eldest son of Norbert Zongo. "This is another important step forward and we are delighted that it is going in the right direction and according to the agreements that exist between the two countries," he told AFP. "Even if it is not today that he will be extradited since the decree can be appealed, sooner or later justice will be done. We are serene on this inevitable end. We hope that things are done in accordance with the procedures and we hope that we will finally see this extradition done, ” he concluded.