A prosecutor claims that a former Mali prime minister’s social media post about his visits to political prisoners “undermines the credibility of the state.”
From 2014 to 2015, Moussa Mara held the position of prime minister for just eight months. Following a post on X on July 4 where he mentioned visiting prisoners and promising to give them justice, he was previously summoned for questioning.
The sun will obviously appear as long as the night lasts! We will fight as much as we can to prevent this from occurring as soon as possible, he wrote and added!
A trial is scheduled for September 29th, and Mara is still in jail. In a statement released on Friday, his attorneys criticized the operation.
Following the first pro-democracy rally since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago, Mara’s arrest is the most recent in a series of military rulers’ crackdown on dissent in Mali.
A close friend of the former prime minister, Abdoulaye Yaro, informed The Associated Press that Mara was detained while his trial was pending, and that he had been detained in response to a cybercrime prosecutor’s order to show compassion for those held for political beliefs.
The former prime minister is accused of spreading false information, undermining state authority, and inciting public disorder, according to his attorney, Mountaga Tall, on X.
According to Tall, Mara’s legal team is contesting the allegations and detention.
General Assimi Goita has led Mali since launching two coups in 2020 and 2021. Despite the military administration’s earlier assurances that civilian rule would be restored by March 2024, he was given an additional five years in office in June.
Following the military’s dissolution of political parties in May, the move was taken.
Source: Aljazeera
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