Court declines to handle key murder case

A criminal appeal court in Ouagadougou yesterday declared itself
incompetent to rule on a murder charge laid against Francois Compaore, the brother of Burkina Faso's president and referred the case to a military court, AFP reported.

The decision came as a disappointment to human rights activists, who had previously been denied permission by the authorities to hold a sit-in outside the court, a media source told IRIN by phone from Ouagadougou.

Human rights groups plan to stage a protest on 24 April against the court decision and against impunity, the source told IRIN.

Compaore was charged with the murder of his driver, David Ouedraogo, which occurred in early 1998, according to AFP. Ouedraogo died after being tortured at the headquarters of the presidential security forces in the capital, various news media reported. He had been accused of stealing 70 million CFA francs (about US $120,000) from his boss.

The charred body of a journalist who had been investigating the affair, Norbert Zongo, and those of three other persons were found last December in Zongo's car, which was not damaged, AFP said. After widespread protests, a commission was appointed in January to investigate his death.