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đŽ URGENT - La junte malienne suspend «jusqu'Ă nouvel ordre» les activitĂ©s des partis et associations politiques https://t.co/hHEWJlOXc0 pic.twitter.com/k5GTsN4jJS
— RFI (@RFI) April 10, 2024
Association
Suspension of the activities of political parties and associations
On 10th April 2024, the Council of Ministers adopted decree 0230/PT-RM, suspending the activities of political parties and activities âof a political natureâ of associations âuntil further noticeâ using grounds of public order. In a press release published later that day, Minister of Territorial Administration, Colonel Abdoulaye MaĂŻga, said that the measure was justified so as to ensure that the Inter-Malian Dialogue for Peace and National Reconciliation, set up on 31st December 2023, would take place in âa climate of serenity and not cacophonyâ. Furthermore, on 11th April 2024, Maliâs media regulator, the High Authority for Communication (HAC), invited all media to stop broadcasting and publishing the activities of political parties and associations.
The suspension follows a call on 31st March 2024 by more than 80 political parties and associations, demanding a return to constitutional order and the organisation of presidential elections. On 22nd April 2024, the signatories to the declaration of 31st March 2024 seized the Supreme Court for the annulment of the 10th April decree.
Maliâs National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) condemned the measure as âa major attack on certain fundamental freedoms, in particular the freedoms of association, opinion and expressionâ.
Nouvelle attaque de la junte malienne contre lâopposition politique https://t.co/blHOOpWoB8
— HRW en français (@hrw_fr) June 25, 2024
Arrest and prosecution of opposition figures
On 20th June 2024, gendarmes arrested 11 opposition figures of the main opposition platform Plateforme dâopposition de la DĂ©claration du 31 mars (31 March Declaration Opposition Platform), a coalition of political opposition mobilised for a return to the constitutional order, at a private residence in Bamako, where they had reportedly gathered for a meeting. On 21st June 2024, Mohamed Ali Bathily, a former minister, was released. On 24th June 2024, the ten other opposition figures were presented before a judge and charged with âconspiracy against the governmentâ and âundermining public orderâ, among other offences.
Several associations dissolved, activities banned
Since December 2023, at least five movements or associations have been dissolved by the military authorities for their criticism:
- On 17th April 2024, the Council of Ministers dissolved the movement Coordination des organisations de lâappel du 20 fĂ©vrier 2023 pour sauver le Mali (Coordination of the Appeal of 20th February 2023 to Save Mali), a platform of political opposition parties and civil society organisations who have been advocating for a return to constitutional order and the organisation of elections. The military authorities accuse the movement of âostentatious actions likely to disturb public order, to undermine the sovereignty of the State and national unityâ. They further said that there are limits to the laws on association and political parties, âin particular the prohibition on political parties from forming groupings in the form of associations and on associations from adopting actions contrary to the principles of sovereignty, nationality, democracy, the integrity of the national territory, national unity and the secularism of the Stateâ.
- On 13th March 2024, the Council of Ministers dissolved student association Association des Ă©lĂšves et Ă©tudiants du Mali (AEEM, Association of Pupils and Students of Mali), accusing its members of violence and clashes in schools and universities. Authorities further referred to recent clashes between two factions of AEEM on 28th February 2024 at the University of Bamako, in which one person was killed and others injured. A dozen AEEM members were arrested.
- A week earlier, on 6th March 2024, the Council of Ministers dissolved the Coordination des mouvements, associations et sympathisants de lâimam Mahmoud Dicko (CMAS, Coordination of movements, associations and supporters of Imam Mahmoud Dicko), accusing it of being âa political body destabilising and threatening public security.â Malian military transitional authorities further accuse Imam Mahmoud Dicko of engaging in âsubversive activities likely to disturb public order, in particular through his recent visits abroad and his official meetings with personalities of foreign powers on questions of national interest without the authorisation of the authorities of Mali.â The imam has been in Algeria since December 2023 after an alleged poisoning attempt. CMAS has been calling for a transition to civilian rule.
- On 26th March 2024, the governor of Bamako, Abdoulaye Coulibaly, banned the activities of Synergie dâaction pour le Mali (Synergy of Action for Mali), a coalition of 30 opposition parties and political formations, in the district of Bamako due to âthe security context and risks to disturb public orderâ. The coalition, which includes CMAS, had been calling for a path other than military rule.
- On 28th February 2024, the Council of Ministers dissolved the association Kaoural Renouveau for âdefamatory and subversive remarks against the transitional authoritiesâ. The association is a member of Synergie dâaction pour le Mali and Appel du 20 fĂ©vrier 2023, whose activities were later banned (see above).
As reported previously on the Monitor, the CSO Observatoire pour les Ă©lections et la bonne gouvernance (Elections and Good Governance Observatory) was dissolved by the Council of Ministers in December 2023, accusing it of having made statements of a nature to âdisturb public orderâ.
#Mali - CondamnĂ© Ă 2 ans de prison pour atteinte au crĂ©dit de lâĂtat : LâĂ©conomiste Etienne Fakaba Sissoko @etiooo dĂ©nonce une injustice. Il a critiquĂ© la communication du gouvernement de transition dans son livre. La sociĂ©tĂ© civile et les dĂ©fenseurs des droits de lâhomme sont⊠pic.twitter.com/U8Nkp2IX2I
— SĂ©ga DIARRAH (@segadiarrah) May 21, 2024
Arrest and prosecution of critics and dissenting voices
Military transitional authorities continued to arrest and prosecute those criticising the state of affairs or the military junta, often using charges such as âdisturbing public orderâ, âdestabilisation of or discrediting the Stateâ.
On 20th May 2024, economist, activist and university professor Etienne Fakaba Sissoko was sentenced to two years in prison, of which one year was suspended, and a fine of three million CFA francs (approximately 4,900 USD) after a court found him guilty of defamation, damaging the stateâs reputation and distribution of fake news. He was arrested on 25th March 2024 following the publication of his book âPropaganda, Agitation and Harassment â Government Communication during the Transitionâ in December 2023, which criticises the alleged use of propaganda in the Malian governmentâs public information campaign.
On 11th March 2024, journalist and activist Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, also known as Ras Bath, was sentenced, on appeal, to 18 months in prison, of which nine months were suspended, for âsimulation of an offenceâ for having alleged that former prime minister Soumeylou BoubĂšye MaĂŻga had been assassinated while he was in detention. As reported previously on the Monitor, he was arrested on 13th March 2023, and was first acquitted on the charge of âsimulation of an offenceâ on 11th July 2023, but sentenced on appeal. Although he has served his sentence of nine months, Bathily remains in prison as he faces the additional charges of âcriminal conspiracyâ and âdiscrediting the stateâ.
On 2nd March 2024, unidentified men abducted whistleblower gendarmerie Col. Alpha Yaya SangarĂ© from his home in Bamako. Since then, the military has confirmed SangarĂ©âs arrest. On 24th February 2024, SangarĂ© published the book âMali: The Challenge of Terrorism in Africaâ, which denounces human rights abuses by the Malian armed forces in their fight against Islamist armed groups. Following the publication of the book, Defence Minister General Daoud Aly Mohammedine had already accused SangarĂ© of having made âfalse accusations against the Malian armed forcesâ and that he would âface the lawâ.
Au #Mali, la majorité des banques et établissements financiers sont fermés pour protester contre l'arrestation du syndicaliste Hamadoun Bah. pic.twitter.com/wcaMDC1rye
— Le journal Afrique TV5MONDE (@JTAtv5monde) June 6, 2024
Arrest of trade union leader sparks strike
The arrest on 5th June 2024 of Hamadoun Bah, Secretary General of the National Union of Banks, Insurance Companies, Financial Institutions and Businesses of Mali (SYNABEF), sparked a strike in the financial sector, supported by other trade unions. Bah was arrested after a complaint was filed by a former member of the union committee accusing Bah of forging a document related to an internal union matter. Despite the withdrawal of the complaint by the complainant on 5th June 2024, Bah remained in prison until his release on 10th June 2024, which ended the strike.
#MALI đČđ± - @pressfreedom reports that Yeri Bocoum, director of Facebook news page YBC-Communication, has not been seen since June 8. He went missing soon after covering banned demonstration by opposition political group âSynergie pour le Maliâ: https://t.co/iaAxue4BSe
— IFEX (@IFEX) July 1, 2024
Expression
Journalist Yeri Bocoum detained for 19 days after covering banned protest
Director of the Facebook news page YBC-Communication Yeri Bocoum disappeared after he covered an opposition protest by Synergie dâaction pour le Mali, banned by authorities, on 7th June 2024. Unknown individuals reportedly abducted him from his home. On 28th June 2024, 19 days after he disappeared with no news about his whereabouts, Bacoum was finally released. According to information received by RFI, the journalist was held by the Malian State Security Services.
On 11th June, media were âinvitedâ by Maliâs media regulator HAC to stop broadcasting and publishing the activities of political parties and associations, a day after the Council of Ministers issued a decree suspending the activities of political parties and activities âof a political natureâ of associations âuntil further noticeâ (see above).
Media outlet suspended for four months
In early February 2024, Maliâs media regulator HAC suspended France 2, a French public tv channel, ordering it to be withdrawn from all audiovisual packages for a period of four months. The HAC accuses France 2 of âglorifying terrorismâ by âcontrasting the firepower of armed terrorist groupsâ with that of the Malian army in a report by France 2 of the security situation in Mali. French media outlets RFI and France 24 had already been banned in 2022.
Peaceful Assembly
Opposition protest banned
In June 2024, opposition coalition Synergie dâaction pour le Mali called for a protest on 7th June in Bamako, against power cuts and the high cost of living. The governor of the district of Bamako banned the protest, using grounds of the decree of 10th April 2024 suspending activities of political parties and activities âof a political natureâ of associations âuntil further noticeâ (see above).
Despite the ban, dozens of people gathered on 7th June but were quickly dispersed by security forces, according to media.