A court in Mali has jailed former Prime Minister Moussa Mara for one year over a social media post in which he expressed solidarity with political prisoners in the military-ruled country.
Mara, who led the country’s government for eight months from 2014 to 2015, was sentenced by the National Cybercrime Centre court in the capital, Bamako, on Monday for “undermining the credibility of the state and opposing legitimate authority”.
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In addition to the one-year prison term without parole, Mara was given a 12-month suspended sentence and a fine of 500,000 CFA francs ($887).
The 50-year-old has been in prison since August 1, weeks after naming in a social media post several political prisoners he had visited and declaring “unwavering solidarity with prisoners of conscience”.
“As long as the night lasts, the sun will obviously appear! We will fight by all means for this to happen as soon as possible!” his July 4 message on X read.
After Monday’s verdict, Mara’s legal team said it had filed an appeal against what they called a “particularly harsh decision”.
“The judicial battle does not end today: it continues, with the same determination, on the grounds of law and truth,” the lawyers said in a statement.
Speaking to the AFP news agency on the condition of anonymity, a close friend of Mara said the court’s decision was not a surprise but said he had not committed a crime.
“We expected it,” he said. “Tell me what his crime is.”
Mali is ruled by a military government led by General Assimi Goita, which came to power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
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Despite promises of a return to civilian rule by 2024, elections have been postponed indefinitely, political parties have been dissolved and Goita was granted an additional five years in power this year.
Amnesty International called Mara’s sentencing a “travesty of justice” and called on Mali’s military government to stop “escalating repression of peaceful dissent and authoritarian practices, and immediately release those currently being detained solely for voicing their opinion”.
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