Editing Thomas Sankara (section)

===People's Revolutionary Tribunals===
Shortly after attaining power, Sankara constructed a system of courts known as the [[Popular Revolutionary Tribunal]]. The courts were created originally to try former government officials in a straightforward way so the average [[Demographics of Burkina Faso|Burkinabé]] could participate in or oversee trials of enemies of the revolution.<ref name="UprightDVD"/> They placed defendants on trial for corruption, tax evasion, or counter-revolutionary activity. Sentences for former government officials were light and often suspended. The tribunals have been alleged to have been only [[show trial]]s,<ref>{{cite book|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2012|chapter=Burkina Faso: Coups, 1966–1987|title=Encyclopedia of Conflicts since World War II|editor-last1=Ciment|editor-first1=James|editor-last2=Hill|editor-first2=Kenneth|location=London|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=339|isbn=978-113-659-621-6}}</ref> held very openly with oversight from the public.

According to the [[United States Department of State|US State Department]], procedures in these trials, especially legal protections for the accused, did not conform to international standards. Defendants had to prove themselves innocent of the crimes they were charged with committing and were not allowed to be represented by counsel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/239057/348288_en.html|title=Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1986|author=US Department of State|date=1 February 1987|website=www.ecoi.net|access-date=29 January 2015|archive-date=2 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202103711/http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/239057/348288_en.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The courts were initially highly admired by the Burkinabé people but were eventually labeled corrupt and oppressive. So-called 'lazy workers' were tried and sentenced to work for free, or expelled from their jobs and discriminated against. Some created their own courts to settle scores and humiliate their enemies.<ref name="UprightDVD"/>{{better source needed|date=March 2021}}