Editing Thomas Sankara (section)

==Death==
{{further|1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état}}
On 15 October 1987, Sankara and twelve other officials were killed in a [[1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état|coup d'état]] organized by his former colleague [[Blaise Compaoré]]. When accounting for his overthrow, Compaoré stated that Sankara jeopardized foreign relations with former colonial power France and neighbouring Ivory Coast, and accused his former comrade of plotting to assassinate opponents.<ref name="ReutersChe"/>

[[Prince Johnson]], a former Liberian warlord allied to [[Charles Taylor (Liberian politician)|Charles Taylor]] and killer of the Liberian president [[Samuel Doe]] whose last hours of life were filmed, told Liberia's [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Liberia)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]] that it was engineered by Charles Taylor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-08-27-us-freed-taylor-to-overthrow-doe-liberias-trc-hears|title=US freed Taylor to overthrow Doe, Liberia's TRC hears|work=The M&G Online|date=27 August 2008|access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref> After the coup and although Sankara was known to be dead, some CDRs mounted an armed resistance to the army for several days.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ake|first=Claude|date=2001|title=Democracy and Development in Africa|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[[Brookings Institution|Brookings Institution Press]]|page=95|isbn=081-572-348-2}}<!--|access-date=31 October 2014--></ref>

According to Halouna Traoré, the sole survivor of Sankara's assassination, Sankara was attending a meeting with the Conseil de l'Entente.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jaffre|first=Bruno|title=A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara|date=2018|publisher=[[Pluto Press]]|isbn=978-0-7453-3757-9|pages=96|doi=10.2307/j.ctt21kk235|jstor=j.ctt21kk235}}</ref> His assassins singled out Sankara and executed him. The assassins then shot at those attending the meeting, killing 12 other people. Sankara's body was riddled with bullets to the back<ref>{{cite news|date=13 October 2015|title=Sankara remains: Burkina Faso late leader 'riddled with bullets'|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34522403|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=13 October 2015|title=Apparent remains of Burkina Faso's ex-leader Sankara 'riddled with bullets', says lawyer|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20151013-burkina-faso-thomas-sankara-supposed-remains-riddled-bullets|access-date=2 January 2021|website=[[France 24]]|language=en}}</ref> and he was quickly buried in an unmarked grave while his widow [[Mariam Sankara|Mariam]] and two children fled the nation.<ref name="CCIL">{{cite web|url=http://www.ccil-ccdi.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=225&Itemid=76|title=Sankara v. Burkina Faso|author=[[Canadian Council on International Law]]|date=March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930045320/http://www.ccil-ccdi.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=225&Itemid=76|archive-date=30 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Compaoré immediately reversed the [[nationalization]]s, overturned nearly all of Sankara's policies, rejoined the [[International Monetary Fund]] and [[World Bank]] to bring in 'desperately needed' funds to restore the 'shattered' economy<ref>{{cite book|title=Burkina Faso, 2nd|last1=Mason|first1=Katrina|last2=Knight|first2=James|year=2011|publisher=The Globe Pequot Press Inc.|page=31|isbn=9781841623528}}</ref> and ultimately spurned most of Sankara's legacy. Compaoré's dictatorship remained in power for 27 years until it was [[2014 Burkina Faso uprising|overthrown by popular protests in 2014]].<ref>{{cite web|title=People in Burkina Faso are taking to the streets to protest their 'president for life'|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-10-29/people-burkina-faso-are-taking-streets-protest-their-president-life|access-date=2 January 2021|website=The World from PRX|date=29 October 2014|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=28 October 2014|title=Huge Burkina Faso march against President Compaore|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29804216|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>

===Trial===
In 2017, the Burkina Faso government officially asked the French government to release military documents on the killing of Sankara after his widow accused France of masterminding his assassination.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37643926|title=Burkina Faso 'wants France to release Sankara archives'|date=13 October 2016|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> The documents were released in 2020 by [[President of France|French president]] [[Emmanuel Macron]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In April 2021, 34 years after Sankara's assassination, former president Compaoré and 13 others were indicted for complicity in the murder of Sankara as well as other crimes in the coup.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Akinwotu|first1=Emmanuel|title=Burkina Faso ex-president Compaoré to face trial over Thomas Sankara murder|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/13/trial-in-absentia-burkina-faso-ex-president-blaise-compaore|website=The Guardian|date=13 April 2021|access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> This development came as part of President [[Roch Marc Christian Kaboré]]'s framework of 'national reconciliation'.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Diallo|first1=Aïssatou|title=Can former president Compaoré's trial help to reconcile Burkina Faso?|url=https://www.theafricareport.com/81752/can-former-president-compaores-trial-help-to-reconcile-burkina-faso/|website=Theafricareport|date=22 April 2021|access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref>

In October 2021, the trial against Compaoré and 13 others began in [[Ouagadougou]], with Compaoré being tried ''[[Trial in absentia|in absentia]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Burkina Faso opens trial on 1987 Sankara assassination|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/11/burkina-faso-to-open-trial-on-1987-sankara-assassination|access-date=11 October 2021|agency=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|date=11 October 2021}}</ref> Ex-presidential security chief Hyacinthe Kafondo, was also tried in absentia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Trial over killing of Burkina Faso's ex-leader Sankara opens|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/trial-over-killing-of-burkina-fasos-ex-leader-sankara-opens/2389235|work=Anadolu Agency|date=11 October 2021}}</ref> A week before the trial, Compaoré's lawyers stated that he wouldn't be attending the trial which they characterized as having defects, and also emphasized his privilege for immunity, being the former head of state.<ref>{{cite news|title=Burkina Faso: Trial to know who killed Thomas Sankara opens|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/after-34-years-sankara-murder-trial-begins-burkina-faso-2021-10-11/|work=Africanews|date=11 October 2021}}</ref> After requests made by the defence attorneys for more time to prepare their defence, the hearing was postponed until 1 March.<ref>{{cite news|title=Burkinabe prosecutors seek 30 years for Compaore in murder trial|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/8/burkina-seeks-30-years-for-compaore-over-sankara-murder#:~:text=Military%20prosecutors%20in%20Burkina%20Faso,%E2%80%9Ccomplicity%20in%20a%20murder%E2%80%9D|work=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]|date=8 February 2022}}</ref>

On 6 April 2022, Compaoré and two others were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in absentia. Eight others were sentenced to between 3 and 20 years in prison. Three were found innocent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ndiaga|first=Thiam|date=6 April 2022|title=Burkina Faso's ex-president Compaore handed life sentence in absentia over Sankara murder|language=en|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/burkina-fasos-former-president-compaore-sentenced-life-prison-over-sankara-2022-04-06/|access-date=16 April 2022}}</ref>