Minister of Justice Boureima Badini
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
c/o HE Permanent Representative to UN
Email: burkinafaso@un.int

24 July 2006

Dear Minister,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 102 countries, to express our serious concern at the dismissal of charges against the only person to be prosecuted over the 1998 murder of journalist Norbert Zongo.

According to reports, Judge Wenceslas Ilboudo’s decision to dismiss the case against presidential guard member Marcel Kafando was issued on 19 July at the request of the public prosecutor, who claimed there was insufficient evidence against him. Mr Zongo was an investigative journalist and editor of the weekly L’Indépendant. His charred body was found in his car on 13 December 1998. At the time of his death he had been investigating the circumstances in which David Ouédraogo, the chauffeur of President Compaoré’s brother François, died at the hands of members of the Presidential Security Regiment after being arrested on suspicion of stealing from his employer.

We are seriously concerned that, after eight years, the failure to bring Mr Zongo’s murderer to justice only increases the appearance of political influence in the judicial process and adds to suspicions that the killer has, in effect, been granted impunity from prosecution.

We respectfully call on you to ensure that the political protection apparently being afforded to Mr Zongo’s murderer is removed and that a thorough and impartial investigation is carried out. We urge you to take all necessary steps to ensure that the killer and all those who have protected him are swiftly brought to justice.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin O’Reilly
President
World Association of Newspapers

George Brock
President
World Editors Forum

WAN is the global organization for the newspaper industry, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organization groups 18,000 newspapers in 102 countries, 11 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups. WAN is non-governmental and non-profit.