Mali’s former prime minister was taken into pretrial detention after expressing solidarity in a media post with jailed critics of the military junta ruling the West African country, his lawyer and a close associate said.
Moussa Mara’s arrest is the latest in a crackdown on dissent by Mali’s military rulers following the country’s first pro-democracy rally since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago. Abdoulaye Yaro, a close associate of the former prime minister, said that Mara was arrested after a cybercrime prosecutor ordered his detention pending trial for expressing compassion for people jailed for political beliefs.
A member of the cybercrime unit said Mara has been accused of “damaging the state’s credibility” and that his trial would start on Sept. 29, 2025. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Read more here.
