Former Malian Prime Minister Moussa Mara has been detained and charged over a social media post criticizing the country’s shrinking democratic space under the military-led government, his lawyer said late Friday.
Mara, one of the few prominent public figures openly challenging Mali’s transitional authorities, faces charges including “undermining the credibility of the state” and “spreading false information,” according to his lawyer Mountaga Tall. His trial is set for September 29.
The case stems from a July 4 post in which Mara expressed solidarity with jailed critics of the junta. After repeated questioning throughout July, Mara was barred on July 21 from boarding a flight to Senegal to attend a regional peace and security conference. On Friday, he was summoned by the judicial cybercrimes unit, where prosecutors formally charged him.
Mara has been vocal in opposing the dissolution of political parties and the five-year renewable mandate recently granted to the junta leader, Assimi Goita. Goita, who seized power through coups in 2020 and 2021, now rules without elections as Mali faces an entrenched insurgency.
The crackdown on dissent comes amid worsening security conditions. Al-Qaeda-linked militants from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) have intensified attacks across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, raiding military posts, extorting rural communities, and ambushing convoys.
On Friday, JNIM said it ambushed a convoy of Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries in central Mali’s Tenenkou area. Mali’s army confirmed the attack but gave no casualty figures.