NEW YORK CITY, NY - A 40-year-old man who was reportedly convicted of numerous crimes linked to a coup in his home country of Burkina Faso was removed from the United States by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this past April following immigration proceedings which uncovered his past human rights abuses.
On April 22, Zakaria Songotoua was removed from the United States and sent back to his home country of Burkina Faso where he’s facing 30 years in prison for his role in a 2015 coup. According to a press release from ICE, Songotoua was reportedly a member of the Presidential Security Regiment in Burkina Faso during the September 2015 incident where the interim president of Burkina Faso, along with the country’s prime minister, were held hostage during the attempted coup.
Reports dating back to the 2015 incident detail a period of destabilization in Burkina Faso that ensued in the wake of the citizens seeing the prior leadership in the country democratically removed and the country’s military attempting to pull off a hostile takeover by way of declaring the interim leadership under arrest.
Per the press release from ICE, the coup resulted in an estimated 11 deaths and over a hundred injuries. Songotoua reportedly fled the country before he could face trial for his crimes, but was still convicted in absentia of murder, assault and battery, and launching an attack on state security, which carried a 30-year prison sentence.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York City Field Office Director Kenneth Genalo issued a statement regarding Songotoua’s deportation, highlighting the agency’s work through their Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) division.
“Songotoua’s role in the violent 2015 effort to overthrow Burkina Faso’s government, which included holding a national leader hostage and killing and injuring protesters, reflects a grave disregard for human life and the rule of law,” Director Genalo stated, adding, “Individuals who engage in such bloodshed anywhere in the world have no place in the United States. ERO New York, with essential support from Homeland Security Investigations New York and the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, will continue to identify and remove human rights violators who attempt to seek refuge in our communities.”
Comments