Burkina Faso’s President, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, will pardon nearly 1,200 prisoners on January 1, 2025, as announced by Minister of Justice Rodrigue Bayala following a Council of Ministers meeting on December 26.

The pardon includes 400 individuals receiving full sentence remission, 750 benefiting from partial remission, and three life-imprisonment sentences being made time-communicable. This initiative is intended to reduce prison overcrowding and allow the beneficiaries to reintegrate into society and contribute to the nation’s development.