Mali: Activism and free speech under siege as military authorities penalise critics

General

Constitutional referendum, elections postponed

On 18th June 2023, Malians officially approved amendments to the 1992 Constitution by 97 percent in a referendum. Some of the amendments, however, are controversial, with opponents saying they give too much power to the president. Under the new Constitution, the Head of State can "determine the policy of the nation" and has the right to hire and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet members. Furthermore, the government will be accountable to the Head of State, not to the Parliament.

In September 2023, elections scheduled for February 2024, which would see the country return to civilian rule, were postponed for a second time by the military junta, who cited “technical reasons” for the delay. The postponement of the elections was heavily criticised by political opposition groups, who called it a “unilateral move” by the military junta.

In the past months, several people, including religious leaders, have been imprisoned for their criticism, while CSOs and political opposition parties have been dissolved or threatened with dissolution.

Association

Good governance CSO dissolved by authorities

In a statement issued on 20th December 2023, the Council of Ministers dissolved the CSO Observatoire pour les élections et la bonne gouvernance (Elections and Good Governance Observatory) at the request of the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation. Official motives given by authorities for the dissolution include the CSO’s inability to provide the financial resources of its projects carried out since its creation and the absence of activity reports as stipulated by the restrictive measures, issued in December 2022, on the coordination, monitoring and control of the activities of associations, NGOs and foundations. Furthermore, according to the statement, authorities accuse Ibrahima Sangho, president of the CSO, of having made statements of a nature “to disturb public order”, citing, among other things, Sangho’s predictions as to the level of participation during the June 2023 constitutional referendum.

Sangho had made reservations regarding the postponement of the elections in early December, stating that he believed conditions allow for the organisation of elections in March 2024. Furthermore, some observers noted that a warning or suspension of the CSO would have been sufficient to allow the organisation to comply with regulations.

Opposition party threatened with dissolution over its criticism

On 28th December 2023, the political opposition party Solidarité africaine pour la démocratie et l’indépendance (SADI; African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence) received a legal summons threatening the party with dissolution over statements made by SADI’s leader, Oumar Mariko, hostile to the transitional military authorities, deemed by the latter as “discrediting the State”. Mariko has been in exile since 2022. The trial, first set to take place on 8th January 2024, was postponed to 12th February 2024.

On 15th June 2023, a court in Bamako dissolved another opposition party – Parti social-démocrate africain (PSDA) – after having found it guilty of “disturbing public order” and “attack on national sovereignty”. The legal procedure was initiated by the Minister of Territorial Administration, reportedly after its leader, Ismaël Sacko, who is also in exile, made statements criticising how the transition is managed by the military junta.

Online harassment of women HRD Aminata Cheick Dicko

Following her intervention at the United Nations Security Council session on 27th January 2023, woman human rights defender Aminata Cheick Dicko was subjected to threats, including death threats, intimidation, public vilification and harassment, forcing her to go into hiding. During the session, Dicko, vice president of the civil society organisation Kisal, condemned, via videoconference, abuses committed by the armed forces and mercenaries of the Russian Wagner group in Mali. The UN Security Council members were discussing the future of MINUSMA. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdoulaye Diop, who was in New York as the representative of the military junta under Assimi Goïta, reportedly publicly said: “We were not informed of this. We do not know this person […] Naturally we doubt her representativeness and credibility”, and further concluded that “the instrumentalisation of civil society for hidden agendas does not serve civil society”.

On social media, the HRD was accused of “collaboration with the enemy”, “being used by the West”, “destroying Mali”, “treason” and “collaboration with jihadists”, among other accusations, and subjected to death threats. Furthermore, a group named Collectif pour la défense des militaires (CDM), a group close to the military junta, reportedly filed a complaint against Dicko for “defamation, slander and high treason” on 30th January 2023 in Bamako.

On 5th February 2023, the Malian diplomatic corps declared Guillaume Ngefa-Atondoko Andali, the head of the Human Rights Division of MINUSMA, persona non grata, and was given 48 hours to leave the country. Andali was accused of selecting representatives who are “impostors, claiming to represent Malian civil society, while ignoring national authorities and institutions”. The expulsion of Andali follows seven months after the spokesperson of MINUSMA, Olivier Salgado, was expelled and ousted.

31st December 2023 marked the end of the mandate of MINUSMA in Mali. The Malian military authorities had demanded, before the UN Security Council in June 2023, the withdrawal of the MINUSMA force “without delay”, citing the failure of the UN peacekeeping force to respond to security challenges.

Activists, religious leaders prosecuted for criticising the military junta

In 2023, several people and activists, including pro-military junta activists, have been subjected to arbitrary detention, judicial harassment and prosecution for their criticism of the military transitional authorities, the security situation or the postponement of the elections.

• On 14th September 2023, a court in Bamako sentenced Adama Ben Diarra, leader of the pro-military junta movement Yerewolo Débout sur les Remparts, to a prison sentence of two years, of which one year was suspended, for “undermining the credit of the State” following comments on the military junta’s decision to postpone elections. He was arrested on 5th September 2023 after having been summoned by the judicial investigation brigade of the Malian police. Ben Diarra, also known as “Ben the brain” and member of the Military Transitional Council, had reportedly on 27th August 2023 called for authorities to respect the duration of the transition and criticised arrests allegedly made by security forces.
• On 2nd August 2023, the Court of Commune IV in Bamako sentenced activist and vlogger Rokia Doumbia, also known as #Madame vie chère to a prison sentence of one year and a fine of 1 million CFA francs (approximately 1,665 USD) for her criticism of the security situation and the cost of living in a broadcast on TikTok. Doumbia was detained on 13th March 2023 and arraigned two days later on charges of “inciting revolt”, “disturbing public order through the use of information and communication technologies” and “insulting and abusing the Head of State”. Although Doumbia’s parents paid bail on 3rd May 2023, the public prosecutor immediately issued a new committal order.
• On 13th March 2023, journalist and activist Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, also known as Ras Bath, was detained for “simulation of an offence” for having alleged that former prime minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga had been assassinated while in detention. The activist, who is the spokesperson of the civil society collective Collectif pour la défense de la République (CDR), was acquitted on that charge on 11th July 2023, but remained in prison as he is also charged with “discrediting the State’” In May 2023, Bathily filed a complaint against prosecutor Idrissa Hamidou Touré for “misconduct”, “illegal arrest” and “kidnapping’”
• In another case, officers of the judicial investigation brigade of the Malian police arrested anti-corruption activist and professor Clément Dembélé on 17th November 2023 when he was on his way to meet journalists over his planned demonstration against electricity cuts. He is accused of “endangering state security” and “death threats via an information system”. The accusations relate to a voice message, which went viral on social media, in which death threats are uttered against the transitional president, Colonel Assimi Goïta, his wife and children. At the time of writing, the audio file was not authenticated, nor was there any additional information available.

Religious leaders have also been targeted for their criticism on the state of affairs in Mali.

• On 4th January 2024, imam Bandiougou Traoré was arrested and placed in pretrial detention for comments made during a sermon, criticising authorities. He reportedly commented that “significant resources” were used for the organisation of a festival in the city of Kayes “while the state of roads in the region deteriorates every day”. He is reportedly being prosecuted for “statements aiming to disturb public order”.
• On 20th December 2023, officers of the judicial investigation brigade detained religious leader Chouala Bayaya Haïdara at his residence in Bamako, sparking a protest by dozens of the religious leader’s followers. Haïdara was reportedly indicted for “discrediting the State” and “dissemination of false statements likely to disturb public order” for having criticised, in a video posted on social media, the frequent electricity cuts in Mali and the series of arbitrary arrests under the military junta. According to media reports, Haïdara’s trial is due to take place on 12th March 2024.

Expression

Journalist arrested, prosecuted

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), police in Bamako arrested journalist Abdoul Niang, who works as a director of radio station Emergence FM and as an online columnist, after summoning Niang on 19th October 2023. The same day, Niang was charged with “making false statements likely to disturb public order” under Mali’s press law, which is punishable with a prison sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to 150,000 CFA francs (approximately 250 USD). He was held in detention until 30th October 2023, when he was released on bail.

The charges relate to comments the journalist made during an interview on 18th October 2023 on the Facebook page of a local media outlet regarding the dismissal of a defamation case against him. The coordinator of the Coordination of Movements and Sympathisers of Mahmoud Dicko, a group affiliated with the local imam Dicko, filed a defamation complaint against Niang over his reporting on the group’s alleged links to the Coordination of the Azawad Movements, a rebel alliance accused of terrorist activities. On 10th October 2023, a local prosecutor dismissed the defamation complaint, but charged him on 19th October 2023 after he commented on the dismissal in an interview.

Local media reported that on 4th December 2023, the Court for the Fight against Cybercrimes sentenced Abdoul Niang to a suspended prison sentence of six months.

One journalist killed, one injured, two abducted in northern Mali

On 7th November 2023, one journalist was killed, one wounded and two abducted when armed men attacked their vehicle on the road between Ansongo and Gao in northern Mali. The four journalists were on their way to attend a workshop for media personnel on false information when they encountered armed men on the road, who opened fire when the group tried to turn back, killing journalist Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla of community radio station Naata. The unidentified gunmen further took Saleck Ag Jiddou and Moustapha Koné, respectively director and host of Radio Coton FM, hostage. A fourth journalist, Harouna Attino, who works for the community radio station Alafiya, was wounded in the attack.

The unidentified men reportedly asked for a ransom of 3 million CFA francs (approximately 5,000 USD) for each of the two abducted journalists. Angela Quintal of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) commented:

Following this incident, journalists in northern Mali declared a ‘day without radio’ on 8th November 2023, thereby suspending radio broadcasts in Gao, Ansongo and Ménaka. According to Reporters without Borders (RSF), the attack came against the backdrop of an extremely degraded security environment in northern Mali, exacerbated by a military offensive in Kidal, a city 350 km northeast of Gao.

Release of French freelance journalist

On 20th March 2023, French journalist Olivier Dubois was released after having been abducted and held by a jihadist group for almost two years. As reported previously on the Monitor, the jihadist group Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), affiliated with Al-Qaeda, abducted Dubois in Gao on 8th April 2021. The journalist, a freelancer who has worked for Le Point, Jeune Afrique and Libération, was in Gao to interview Abdallah Ag Albakaye, a lieutenant of the jihadist group.

Premises of Maison de la Presse (Press House) in Bamako ransacked

On 20th February 2023, unidentified individuals ransacked the premises of the Maison de la Presse in Bamako, while a new opposition platform, Appel du 20 Février pour sauver le Mali (20th February Appeal to Save Mali), was being launched during a press conference at its premises. According to media reports, chairs were thrown around, punches were thrown and windows and tiles were broken. Issa Kaou N'Djim, spokesperson for the new platform, commented:

Appel du 20 Février pour sauver le Mali is a new opposition platform consisting of political opposition and civil society groups formed to demand the annulment of a constitutional referendum and the holding of elections so as to return to civilian rule.