Burkina Faso Passes Bill to Ease Prison Overcrowding Through Community Service

The Transitional Legislative Assembly in Burkina Faso passed a bill on Friday to implement community service as an alternative to imprisonment, aiming to ease prison overcrowding and reduce state expenses.

The bill, passed unanimously, establishes community service as an independent penalty intended to promote fairness and protect the dignity of those convicted.

Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala highlighted the bill’s role in improving the justice system by balancing punishment with societal needs.

The bill aims to relieve prison congestion by replacing certain custodial sentences with community service while reducing the cost of maintaining detainees from the state budget, the Assembly’s communications department said.

Under the new law, private entities conducting public service missions may host individuals serving community service sentences.

The term “accused” is also replaced with “person prosecuted” in official language to reflect these changes.

Lawmakers recommended a comprehensive awareness campaign to familiarise judicial actors, victims, facilities, and convicted individuals with the new community service option.

President Ibrahim Traoré has long advocated for reducing prison populations, suggesting community service work could benefit infrastructure, sanitation, and community agriculture.

I don’t see how we can condemn people, drop them off and feed them. I hope that the sanctions will be community service that will allow us to make (the convicts) work in our community fields that we will create to produce for others and also allow us to do other types of work, including infrastructure and sanitation, Traoré said.

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