A trial of Burkina Faso's former leader Blaise Compaore and his cabinet began on Monday after delays, with the court dismissing calls from the defense to cancel the proceedings. Compaore, who fled during a popular revolt in 2014 as he sought to extend his 27-year-rule of the West African country, is being tried in absentia.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters. </s> A closely-watched trial of Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, former president, and members of his cabinet is under way in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Compaore, who fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast during a popular revolt in 2014 against his attempts to change the constitution and extend his 27-year-rule, is being tried in absentia.

Along with 34 ex-government ministers, Compaore faces assassination charges for allegedly authorising the use of force against unarmed protesters during the uprising that toppled him, killing at least 24 people.

READ MORE: Coup attempt thwarted, says Burkina Faso's government

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting on Monday from outside the court in Ouagadougou, said defence lawyers had launched an appeal questioning the format of the trial.

"The judges who were nominated by the national assembly are in fact politicians belonging to the ruling party," he said, adding that a separate appeal had also been launched by the lawyers of the victims.

"They [victims] say they want to be represented in this trial - at the moment they are not, as they are being represented by the prosecution," Haque said.

'Important moment'

Some Burkinabes say they are disappointed that the post-Compaore government led by Roch Marc Kabore has not delivered on its reform pledges and express regret at Compaore's absence.

Still, they welcomed the opening of the trial - the first in a series of cases being investigated to be brought to trial.

"What most people here want is to see Compaore himself to take part in this trial," Haque said.

"So it's really an important moment for people in Burkina Faso - not only for justice but also to record the history of actually what happened during that uprising in October 2014." </s> Ex-president, who is in Ivory Coast, accused of authorising the killings of unarmed protesters in October 2014 uprising.

A closely-watched trial of Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, former president, and members of his cabinet is under way in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Compaore, who fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast during a popular revolt in 2014 against his attempts to change the constitution and extend his 27-year-rule, is being tried in absentia.

Along with 34 ex-government ministers, Compaore faces assassination charges for allegedly authorising the use of force against unarmed protesters during the uprising that toppled him, killing at least 24 people.

Some Burkinabes say they are disappointed that the post-Compaore government led by Roch Marc Kabore has not delivered on its reform pledges and express regret at Compaore's absence.

Still, they welcomed the opening of the trial - the first in a series of cases being investigated to be brought to trial. </s> Trial of Burkina Faso's ex-leader Blaise Compaore adjourned

 

 The closely-watched and long-delayed trial of Blaise Compaore, Burkina Faso's former president, and members of his cabinet has been adjourned for a month after his lawyers claimed that he would not receive a fair hearing. Compaore, who fled to … </s> Justice Minister Rene Bagoro said on late Thursday the revised law is an important step in transition to a credible justice system.

He added: "In addition to lifting capital punishment, amendments have been made to sections on organized criminal bodies, terrorism, corruption, violence against women and children's rights, in accordance with international law."

The minister explained that his country has largely fulfilled international obligations and commitments of the UN with these steps.

"These changes will......create a better environment for peace and security," he added.

The move will facilitate the return of former President Blaise Compaore's brother Francois Compaore from France.

Compaore was accused of being involved in the murder of Norbert Zong, a famous journalist, in 1998. He was sentenced to death in absentia.

The country has not imposed capital punishment since 1978, despite a provision in the law.

Burkina Faso became the 21st country in sub-Saharan Africa to abolish death penalty. </s> The recording's emergence comes after Burkina Faso issued an arrest warrant for Ivory Coast's parliament speaker Guillaume Soro for alleged links to the coup, further straining relations between the two West African neighbours.

Burkina Faso authorities issued the warrant against Soro for crimes including complicity in treason last week on the basis of another recorded phone conversation.

Two Burkina Faso judicial officials vouched for the authenticity of the latest recording, obtained by Reuters on Friday. Ivorian authorities were not immediately available to comment.

Recorded at a time when loyalist troops were turning the tables against the putsch, a voice allegedly belonging to Ivory Coast military chief of staff General Soumaila Bakayoko asks coup leader General Gilbert Diendere for an update of the situation.

"The situation is a bit difficult," Diendere responds. "Among the officers there is some hesitation. I'm not saying I'm all alone. But many are very hesitant for their future."

Later, Bakayoko urges Diendere to go on the offensive or risk seeing the coup fail.

"They're going to pin it all on you. You have to know that. Politically, they are going to say 'You have the highest rank. You are the general," Bakayoko says.

"You are constrained to take action. So carry out something good."

Last September's brief coup by the elite Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) temporarily derailed Burkina Faso's transition to democratic rule after President Blaise Compaore was ousted in late 2014.

It failed after a week when loyalist regular army troops marched into the capital Ouagadougou and Diendere, Compaore's former spy chief, was arrested.

A judicial source involved in the cases against Diendere, Soro and ex-foreign minister Djibril Bassole said the recording was included in evidence files.

A second judicial source added that authorities had obtained a total of three gigabytes of digital recordings.

Compaore was driven from power and forced to flee Burkina Faso in October 2014 after a popular uprising following his attempt to alter the constitution to extend his 27-year rule. He now lives in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast.

The two nations, once part of the same French colony share a history of close, often fraught, economic and political ties.

Soro and his New Forces rebels controlled northern Ivory Coast for eight years following a 2002 civil war and were accused by then Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo's allies of receiving support from Compaore. Burkina Faso denied the allegation.

General Bakayoko was the military chief of staff of the rebels.

The New Forces played a crucial role in Ivory Coast's 2011 civil war, backing President Alassane Ouattara's claim to leadership after Gbagbo refused to recognise his election defeat.

Burkina Faso's RSP, a pillar of Compaore's regime, was disarmed and disbanded following last year's coup attempt.

But at least a dozen elite troops rejected the process and went missing. The army on Friday blamed ex-RSP members for an overnight raid on an armoury on the outskirts of Ouagadougou.

Coming less than a week after al Qaeda fighters killed 30 people in a restaurant and hotel in Ouagadougou popular with foreigners, the assault further exposes the security challenges facing new President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. </s> Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | An Ivory Coast jury on Tuesday acquitted former first lady Simone Gbagbo of crimes against humanity during the 2010-11 post-election crisis in a stunning verdict after the prosecution had sought to jail her for life.

“A majority of the jury declared Simone Gbagbo not guilty of the crimes of which she has been accused, pronounced her acquittal and ordered that she be immediately freed if she is not being held for other reasons, ” said the head of the country’s top criminal court, judge Kouadjo Boiqui.

Once dubbed Ivory Coast’s “Iron Lady,” Gbagbo, who was not in court Tuesday, is already serving a 20-year sentence for “endangering state security.”

The prosecution in summing up its case against the 67-year-old wife of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday had called on the jury to find her “guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentence her to life imprisonment,” said prosecutor Aly Yeo.

He described her as a shadowy figure who orchestrated attacks on her husband’s opponents.

“After her spouse came to power, she started to impose herself as the real head of Ivory Coast, the army, the police and gendarmerie,” Yeo said.

Laurent Gbagbo is on trial for crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution, having been handed over in November 2011 to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The ICC also wanted to prosecute his wife and issued a warrant for her arrest, but Ivorian authorities refused to hand her over, insisting she would receive a fair trial at home.

The judge also said that the parties had 60 days to appeal the verdict which the jury reached after deliberating for six hours.

Following the 2010 presidential elections, some 3,000 people died in five months of unrest in the cocoa-rich west African state after Laurent Gbagbo, who lost to current Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, refused to step down.

The prosecution charged that Simone Gbagbo had headed a crisis cell — “a genuine decision-making body” that allegedly coordinated attacks by armed forces and pro-Gbagbo militias.

The evidence came from documents found in the home of the presidential couple when the pair were arrested on September 11, 2011, he said.

“She replied to correspondence from arms dealers offering weapons and combat helicopters,” said Yeo.

She was accused of distributing arms to militias backing her husband following his election defeat.

In one case, she allegedly played an indirect role in the shelling of a market in Abobo, a Ouattara stronghold in the economic capital Abidjan, in November 2010. </s> Judges at the International Criminal Court have acquitted former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo of crimes committed following disputed elections in 2010.

The court in The Hague also acquitted the country’s former youth minister Charles Ble Goude, saying prosecutors failed to prove their case.

Presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser ordered the immediate release of the 73-year-old Gbagbo and Ble Goude, following the judgment mid-way through their trial.

Mr Tarfusser said a majority of the three-judge chamber ruled that “the prosecutor has failed to satisfy the burden of proof” against both men.

Lawyers for Gbagbo and Ble Goude asked judges last year to acquit both men for lack of evidence at the end of the prosecution case in their trial that began just under three years ago.

Mr Tarfusser later suspended his order ahead of a follow-up hearing on Wednesday, when prosecutors are expected to announce whether they will appeal.

Gbagbo was the first former president to go on trial at the global court and his case was seen as a milestone in efforts to bring to justice even the highest-ranking leaders accused of atrocities.

Mr Tarfusser said it was a matter of public record that Ivory Coast was wracked by post-election violence in 2010 and early 2011, but he said prosecutors did not present evidence that Gbagbo and Ble Goude formulated a common plan for their supporters to unleash violence.

More than 3,000 people were killed after Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by his rival and current Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

As Mr Tarfusser announced the acquittals, supporters of Gbagbo and Ble Goude stood up and cheered in the courtroom’s gallery. Supporters of Gbagbo outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)

The ruling was the latest defeat for prosecutors at the world’s first global war crimes court.

The case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was also accused of involvement — before he became president — in post-election violence in his country, collapsed in December 2014.

Last year a former Congolese vice president, Jean-Pierre Bemba, was acquitted on appeal of crimes allegedly committed by his militia in neighbouring Central African Republic. </s> A court in Ivory Coast has acquitted former first lady Simone Gbagbo of crimes against humanity and war crimes charges linked to her role in a 2011 civil war that killed about 3,000 people, state television announced on Tuesday. 



Judge Kouadio Bouatchi said a jury unanimously voted to free Gbagbo. The prosecution had asked for a life sentence, saying she participated on a committee that organised abuses against supporters of her husband’s opponent after the 2010 election. 



More than 3,000 people were killed after former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat to current President Alassane Ouattara.

The trial, the west African country’s first for crimes against humanity, was held in an Ivorian court after the government rejected her extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. 



“We are happy. Since the start of the trial we proclaimed her innocence. The prosecution’s case against her was empty,” Gbagbo’s lawyer, Mathurin Dirabou, told Reuters after the verdict was announced. 



Tuesday’s acquittal was a surprise for many. Simone Gbagbo did not attend the trial in protest and was not present for the verdict.

“I’m disappointed and sad for the victims today. Only international justice can fight against impunity, it seems. We can no longer trust Ivorian justice,” said Issiaka Diaby, president of the association for victims of the crisis.

Simone Gbagbo had already been tried and convicted in March 2015 of offences against the state and sentenced to 20 years in prison, a jail term that was upheld on appeal this month. 



Prosecutors in her war crimes trial alleged she was part of a small group of party officials from Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) which planned violence against supporters of Ouattara to stop him taking power. 



Her husband, ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, is standing trial before the ICC on similar charges connected to the brief conflict.
A trial at a court in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, opens to try former President Blaise Compaoré and members of his cabinet in absentia. Burkina Faso accuses Compaoré, who is in exile in the Ivory Coast, of ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ousted him in 2014.