A former prime minister of Mali has been charged with “undermining the credibility of the state” following a social media post about his visits to political prisoners, according to a prosecutor.
Moussa Mara held the post of prime minister for a brief eight months from 2014 until 2015. He was previously summoned for questioning following a July 4 post on X in which he spoke of visiting the prisoners and promising to ensure them justice.
“As long as the night lasts, the sun will obviously appear!” he wrote and added, “We will fight by all means for this to happen as soon as possible!”
Mara remains in jail with a trial scheduled for September 29. His lawyers condemned the proceedings in a statement on Friday.
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, told The Associated Press news agency that Mara was arrested after a cybercrime prosecutor ordered his detention pending trial for expressing compassion for people jailed for political beliefs.
His lawyer, Mountaga Tall, said on X that the former prime minister faces charges including undermining state authority, inciting public disorder, and spreading false information.
Mara’s legal team is contesting the charges and detention, Tall said.
Since orchestrating two coups in 2020 and 2021, General Assimi Goita has led Mali. In June, he was granted an additional five years in power, despite the military government’s earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024.
The move followed the military’s dissolution of political parties in May.
Mali, a landlocked nation in Africa’s semi-arid Sahel region on the southern fringe of the Sahara desert, has been embroiled in political instability that swept across West and Central Africa over the last decade.
