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Burkina Faso urged to cancel arrest warrant against Ivorian Speaker
US-based research and education think tank, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) has urged Burkina Faso to cancel the international arrest warrant against Mr. Guillaume Soro, current Speaker of Parliament of Côte d'Ivoire because the action violates international law.
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According to ACILA, even though Burkina Faso's action is aimed at bringing Mr. Soro to account for his alleged role in the coup in Burkina Faso in 2015, the arrest warrant violates immunity provisions in international law.
A statement issued by Mr. Carl Mensah, Deputy Executive Director of ACILA, said that under international law unless a state is acting pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by an international court with legitimate jurisdiction, a state official, such as the speaker of parliament of Cote d’Ivoire, is immune from the criminal prosecution of Burkina Faso, a foreign state.
Mr. Mensah said that a judge in France had rescinded a similar arrest warrant for Mr. Soro in December last year citing his immunity from prosecution while he was on a state visit in France.
The statement comes following an international arrest warrant issued by Burkina Faso’s military tribunal for the arrest of Cote d’Ivoire’s current speaker of speaker for his alleged involvement in a coup in Burkina Faso in September 2014.
Burkina Faso’s prosecutor, Colonel Sita Sangare said Friday that the warrant against Guillaume Soro was issued through Interpol and the foreign ministry. He said phone calls between Soro and a former Burkina Faso minister Djibril Bassole are part of the prosecution, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP).
ACILA is incorporated under US law as a 501(c) (3) research and education think tank which aims to contribute to African scholarship through enhanced understanding of international law and public accountability.
