Côte d'Ivoire probes death of Burkina Faso's citizen in prison

Burkina Faso on Monday urged for "light to be shed" on the death in jail of an influencer held in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire on spying accusations.

Côte d'Ivoire had detained Alain Christophe Traore since January, after he was arrested for "collusion with agents of a foreign state that could harm the military or diplomatic situation of Côte d'Ivoire."

The influencer, also known as Alino Faso, was found dead in his cell in the economic capital Abidjan on Thursday. He was a prominent supporter of Burkina Faso’s government.

'Hanged himself'

According to Côte d'Ivoire prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone, the 44-year-old "hanged himself with the help of his bedsheets after having tried without success to open the veins in his wrist."

An inquiry had been opened into the "circumstances" of his death, Kone added.

Having summoned the charge d'affaires of Côte d'Ivoire's embassy in Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe capital, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Affairs Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore demanded "that the full light be shed on this tragedy."

"Given that he has been stripped of his Côte d'Ivoire nationality, he remains a Burkinabe citizen and we want to receive the body of our compatriot here in Burkina Faso," he added.

Alino Faso had moved with his family in 2021 to Abidjan, where he had opened a restaurant, but made regular trips back to Burkina Faso.

The two West African countries have had frosty relations since Burkina Faso's transitional President Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in September 2022.