Hearing of experts and screening of a reconstruction of the Sankara assassination trial
Thomas Sankara, August 4, 1985, during the celebration of the 2nd anniversary of the revolution in Burkina Faso.
© AFP / DANIEL LAINE
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The day of Wednesday January 12 was devoted to hearing the experts and the screening of a reconstruction.
Three experts appeared before the court to deliver the results of their examinations on the remains of the president and his twelve companions assassinated in 1987, remains exhumed in the cemetery of Dagoen in May 2015. The DNA collected was not exploitable given the state. degradation of the bodies, but rings, identity cards and military cards found on the remains made it easier to identify the victims, experts said.
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With our correspondent in Ouagadougou,
Yaya Boudani
According to experts, the depth of the tomb of President Thomas Sankara was 45 cm.
As for those of the other victims, the depths were between 22 and 58 cm.
“
In no grave did we find an entire long bone.
The bone structure of the head had become very friable
, ”underlines Professor Robert Soudré.
Several holes were found on the clothing of President Thomas Sankara.
And these holes were mostly located in the chest, stomach, underarms and back.
No lower limb was affected according to the results of the expertise.
According to the divisional police commissioner Missa Millogo, a specialist in crime scenes, ammunition for assault rifles like the Kalashnikovs, machine guns and semi-automatic pistols were found in the grave.
"
There were traces of burns on the clothes of President Thomas Sankara, which means the use of tracer bullets by the attackers,
" said expert Millogo.
The accused, witnesses or families of the victims, were able to attend the reenactments of the assault during which President Thomas Sankara and his twelve companions were shot.
In the film, each actor retraced his journey and explained the role he played on October 15, 1987.
The trial resumes on Monday January 24 with the pleadings of the lawyers of the civil parties.
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To read the webdoc Who had Sankara killed?
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Thomas sankara
Burkina Faso
Justice