Mali: Journalist Youssouf Sissoko Imprisoned for an Article Critical of the President of Niger

In Mali, Youssouf Sissoko, the editor of the newspaper "L'Alternance," was arrested and detained on Thursday, February 5. He is being prosecuted, notably for "insulting a foreign head of state," following the publication of an article questioning statements made by Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani. Niger is an ally of Mali within the AES (Alliance of Sahel States).

Youssouf Sissoko has been taken to Bamako's central prison. According to several members of his entourage and Malian journalists' organizations, Youssouf Sissoko is being prosecuted for "undermining the credibility of the state," "insulting a foreign head of state," and "spreading false information."

When contacted by RFI, the prosecutor of the anti-cybercrime judicial unit, who initiated the proceedings, did not respond. Several Malian press organizations are mobilized, but declined to comment at this stage.

Incompetence or a lie
Last Monday, L'Alternance ran the headline: " General Tiani, overcome with emotion, accuses Macron, Ouattara, and Talon ," referring to the remarks made by the Nigerien president against the French, Ivorian, and Beninese presidents after the attack on Niamey airport last week. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel.

“ Either his intelligence services are abysmally incompetent, or he is deliberately lying. (…) the second option seems the most likely ,” we can still read in the article signed by Sambou Sissoko, a political analyst openly opposed to the military regimes of the AES and who lives in exile outside of Mali.

Resumption
First circulated on social media by its author, then picked up by the newspaper L'Alternance , the article dismantles in a very reasoned but also very critical way the conspiracy rhetoric of General Tiani and the political objectives it serves.

The trial of Youssouf Sissoko has been set for March 9th.