Thousands protest in Burkina Faso over citizen's death in Côte d'Ivoire prison

Thousands demonstrated in Burkina Faso on Wednesday demanding "truth and justice" over the death of a pro-junta influencer in Côte d'Ivoire while in detention on spying accusations.

Alain Christophe Traore, also known as Alino Faso, was found dead in his cell in Côte d'Ivoire's economic capital Abidjan last week.

The 44-year-old influencer had been detained since his arrest in January for "collusion with agents of a foreign state that could harm the military or diplomatic situation of Côte d'Ivoire."

The two West African neighbours have had frosty relations since Burkina Faso's junta chief, Captain Ibrahim Traore, seized power in a September 2022 coup.

'Light to be shed'

Burkina Faso has called for "light to be shed" on the death.

Côte d'Ivoire's prosecutors say Alino Faso "hanged himself with the help of his bedsheets after having tried without success to open the veins in his wrist."

Thousands heeded a call by the National Coordination of Citizen Monitoring Associations (CNAVC) to take to the streets of the Burkinabe capital Ouagadougou on Wednesday, according to videos on social media and what local sources told AFP.

Demonstrators, many dressed in white, carried placards with slogans including "The Burkinabe people demand justice for Alino Faso."

'Not an individual tragedy'

The rally culminated outside Côte d'Ivoire's embassy in Ouagadougou, where the CNAVC read out a statement, also conveyed on social media, pointing to "grey areas" in the official Côte d'Ivoire's version of events around Alino Faso's death.

"Alino's death is not an individual tragedy. It's a tragedy that affects the whole nation and calls for truth," the CNAVC said.

Côte d'Ivoire's government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly said on Wednesday that the prosecutor "would not have raised the element of suicide if he did not have sufficient evidence to say so."

Condolences

According to the Burkina information agency, Côte d'Ivoire's authorities conveyed their condolences on Tuesday to the Burkinabe government.