Burkina Faso charges senior magistrates with corruption

A dozen senior magistrates arrested in Burkina Faso last month are being prosecuted for corruption, the government announced on Thursday.

In mid-October, a judicial source indicated that magistrates from the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal had been detained.

Captain Farouk Azaria Sorgho, from Korag, an official body tasked with implementing the transitional government's "strategic vision" of a "progressive popular revolution", said hearings had since revealed "a vast network of corrupt agents" at the court.

Among those implicated are 10 senior magistrates, presiding judges, the attorney-general, an investigation judge and a lawyer, he added.

'Acts of corruption'

"Significant sums of money were involved in acts of corruption and influence, resulting in a biased investigation and a partisan judgment."

One noteworthy case involves the trial of about 10 customs officers prosecuted for "corruption and money laundering" who were acquitted.

Korag called it a "judicial farce" and said that the ruling "undermines the fight against corruption and sends an extremely negative signal about the effectiveness and rigour of the specialised judicial unit."

"We will intensify the fight against corruption and impunity among judicial actors by demanding strict adherence to ethical and professional standards," Sorgho said.