Two presidential guards admit to torturing murder victim

Two out of five presidential guards accused of killing a driver who worked for President Blaise Compaore’s brother have admitted they tortured the victim to extract information from him about an alleged coup attempt three years ago, the BBC reported.

During the trial, which began on Thursday, the two guards said they regretted the death of David Ouedraogo and that they had no intention of killing the driver, who died of his injuries in January 1998.

Four of the guards have also been implicated in the death of journalist Norbert Zongo, who was investigating Ouedraogo’s death in December 1998 when his charred body and those of three others were found in a bullet-ridden car. The murders have shone the spotlight on Burkina Faso’s human rights record. Zongo was considered a staunch opponent of the government and had been calling for the president’s brother, Francois, to be charged with murdering Ouedraogo.

More than 3,000 people gathered outside the courtroom on Thursday to denounce the trial as a miscarriage of justice. They want Francois Compaore, a key suspect in the case, to be put on trial. He had been charged with murder but in March last year, the appeals court threw out the case, saying it was not competent to pursue it. A military tribunal to which the case was referred decided against pressing charges.