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The files are piling up on the magistrates’ desk of the Burkina Faso counterterrorism pole. In the case of this “14 year old fighter” to that of a “50-year-old Koranic teacher” radicalized, going through these “Women used for food supply”, inquiries are multiplying ad infinitum.
Each new attack on Burkinabé territory is supposed to lead to the opening of a judicial investigation. But faced with the spread of violence, the task is ” impossible ” and it needs “Sort according to the seriousness of the facts”, regrets the prosecutor Emile Zerbo. Here, in the premises of the specialized judicial center created in 2017, there are only four investigating judges for 459 cases. “It’s too little, we are overwhelmed”, breaths one of them. “They should have been at least fifty, but the lack of trained magistrates was a big obstacle”, recognizes the Minister of Justice, Victoria Ouédraogo Kibora.
For almost a year, The World Africa investigated the slowness and difficulties of anti-terrorism justice in Burkina Faso. Six years after the start of jihadist violence which left more than 1,500 civilians dead in this Sahel country according to the NGO Acled, a milestone was crossed in August with the opening of the first trials of suspected terrorists.
“We closed the first cases in 2018 and we were ready to judge the others in 2019 “, insists the district attorney. But faced with the terrorist threat which also hangs over the judicial actors, the authorities preferred to wait for the construction of a new courthouse, more secure and suitable for the holding of these very sensitive trials. On May 18, seven years after its creation decree, the Ouaga II tribunal de grande instance (TGI) opened its doors in Karpala, on the outskirts of Ouagadougou.
Sentences of up to twenty-one years in prison
From August 9 to 13, a “Exceptional device” composed of elements of the prison security guard, patrols and escorts of the police and the gendarmerie, searches and porticoes at the entrance, had to be deployed around the TGI, according to the Minister of Justice. All for a cost of ” Several dozens “ millions of CFA francs (several tens of thousands of euros).
A dozen defendants were called to the bar for this first trial session of the anti-terrorism pole. For the first time since 2015, five defendants were sentenced to terms of up to 21 years in prison. But five cases had to be returned, some defendants seeking a lawyer. And barely started, the session was suspended on the fourth day because of a strike by prison security guards, with no resumption date being announced.
In the room exhaling the smell of fresh paint, exasperation was felt. An impatience to which the district attorney tries to answer: “We have to go at our own pace and avoid the show trial. The time of justice should not be that of emotion “, underlines Emile Zerbo.
It must be said that in Burkina Faso, the terrorist threat is still a recent phenomenon. Jihadist groups rarely claim responsibility for their attacks, and fighters wear nicknames to confuse the issue. The investigative work is tedious and sprawling. “It takes a lot of files to go back to the head of a network”, explains the prosecutor.
Interrogations can last several months, slowed down by the “Lack of cooperation”, the “Denials” suspects and the language barrier. With a single interpreter, in Fufulde (the Fulani dialect) and in Arabic, for the entire pole, the magistrates are obliged to coordinate so as not to conduct their interviews at the same time.
Evidence is also hard to find. Sometimes the perpetrators are killed in the assault, the accomplices have fled, the weapons have disappeared … “One can have clues, a denunciation or suspicious telephone contacts, but a material element proving the membership of a group, it is complex”, indicates an investigating judge who wishes to speak on condition of anonymity for security reasons (like other witnesses interviewed by the World Africa for this survey).
The situation becomes even more complicated when the attackers cross the border to take refuge in Mali or Niger. The mutual legal assistance protocol between neighboring countries is cumbersome and can drag on “Up to two years”, says Emile Zerbo.
A high security prison in an undisclosed location
Operational since 2019, a Special Anti-Terrorism Investigations Brigade (BSIAT), attached to the Ministry of Security, is responsible for analyzing crime scenes, collecting evidence and searching for the perpetrators.
But on the ground, this shadow squad lacks resources, in particular a listening and surveillance system, drones or armored vehicles. Its staff (48 judicial police officers) are constrained. And the only two forensic scientists are quickly overwhelmed by the scale of the massacres, which can exceed a hundred victims per village.
These difficulties are reinforced by the inaccessibility of entire swathes of Burkinabé territory due to the presence of armed groups or explosive devices on the tracks. According to our information, the day after the Solhan massacre, in the north of the country (at least 160 dead on June 5, according to the official report), the officers of the brigade had to be helicoptered to carry out the investigation on the spot. A few hours later, the attackers returned to the scene.
In these areas, the few witnesses fear reprisals from the jihadists if they speak out, while the suspects hide among the population. “We had to explain to the officers the difference between a radical and a terrorist, explains a source from the pole. At first, some of them stopped locals based on their clothes or the way they prayed. “
In Burkina Faso, people suspected of an act or financing of terrorism can be arrested and then kept in pre-trial detention for the duration of the investigation, until the hearing of the judgment. The result: around 900 suspected terrorists are currently crammed into the too narrow cells of the high-security prison where the country’s most dangerous detainees are kept and whose location is kept secret, near the capital.
The congestion of this establishment, which records an occupancy rate of 200%, is stirring up criticism. “Many files are empty, people are kept on the basis of suspicion or anonymous denunciations and have sometimes never been heard”, denounces lawyer Ambroise Farama. Some detainees have been held there for more than four years.
Lawyers worry about becoming targets
In an attempt to speed up and lighten the investigation, the authorities have decided to correct criminal proceedings. Since the adoption of the new Code of Criminal Procedure in 2019, the assistance of a lawyer is optional for suspected terrorists and is their responsibility. “In a context where the major concern is to secure our populations, the State does not have the means to appoint a lawyer for everyone”, justifies Minister Victoria Ouédraogo Kibora.
Especially since lawyers are also worried about being targets. The state can provide close security to some magistrates, but they have to fend for themselves. During the first trials in August, the defense benches remained empty. “They are afraid of exposing themselves”, tries to explain a lawyer. In addition to the fear of reprisals from armed groups, that of public opinion also weighs heavily. In Burkina Faso, defending a suspected jihadist remains poorly understood by part of the population.
“We are confused with our customers, who are seen as monsters”, continues this lawyer, reporting to have received ” death threats “ on social networks because of the forty cases he defended.
Summary of the series “Burkina: a punishment against terrorism”
The feeling of injustice continues to worsen in Burkina Faso, where jihadist attacks, intercommunal reprisals and abuses blamed on the security forces have left more than 3,700 dead since 2015, according to the latest count from the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled).
Faced with the spiral of violence, the families of the victims demand the right to the truth and to reparation. But in the field, the investigations are long and tedious. Between security threats and the lack of resources, the magistrates of the specialized pole are struggling to carry out their mission. In the meantime, around 900 suspected terrorists are crowding into the cells of the country’s high security prison, near Ouagadougou.
While on August 9, for the first time in six years, five jihadists were sentenced in the country, The World Africa investigated the difficulties of anti-terrorism justice and the path of detainees and their families.