Burkina Faso is demanding a full investigation into the death of a pro-junta influencer who died in an Ivorian jail. Alain Christophe Traore, also known as Alino Faso, was being held in neighboring Ivory Coast on spying accusations. His death further strains the already frosty relationship between the two West African nations.
Ivorian authorities detained Alino Faso in January, accusing him of “collusion with agents of a foreign state.” He was found dead in his Abidjan cell on Thursday.
Ivorian prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone stated that the 44-year-old “hanged himself with the help of his bedsheets.” Kone also mentioned that Traore had tried unsuccessfully to open veins in his wrist.
An official inquiry into the circumstances of his death has begun. On Monday, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, summoned Ivory Coast’s charge d’affaires in Ouagadougou. The minister demanded “that the full light be shed on this tragedy.”
He emphasized that since Alino Faso was stripped of his Ivorian nationality, “he remains a Burkinabe citizen,” and his country wants to receive his body.
Burkina Faso’s top diplomat also accused Ivory Coast of showing “a great deal of contempt” for his nation. He noted that neither Burkina Faso’s diplomatic representatives nor its Foreign Ministry were officially notified of the death.
The news was communicated in a “curt statement” only 72 hours after the tragedy, which the minister called a “lack of respect and courtesy,” especially for the deceased’s family who learned the painful news via social media.
Alino Faso, suspected of links to an influential Burkinabe cyberactivist group, had moved to Abidjan in 2021 where he opened a restaurant, though he made regular trips back to Burkina Faso.