Malian dissident jailed for criticising Burkina Faso

A Malian court jailed a political figure last Monday for making critical remarks about the military rulers of neighbouring Burkina Faso, a legal source and his family said. Issa Kaou N'Djim, who previously supported Malian junta leader Assimi Goita before distancing himself, made the comments during a programme aired on local television station Joliba TV News, according to Voice of America. N'Djim was sentenced by a court in the capital, Bamako, to two years in prison, one of which was suspended. He was also ordered to pay a fine of 1m CFA francs ($1 600) by the national anti-cybercrime office, the legal source said. Mali authorities closed Joliba TV News in November because of the remarks and handed the private television station a six-month ban earlier this month. N'Djim's jailing follows the disappearance Saturday morning of another opposition figure, Ibrahim Naby Togola, who was due to hold a news briefing that day. According to a statement from his political party, Togola was abducted by ‘unidentified armed individuals,’ then taken to an unknown destination in a black vehicle with tinted windows. Mali and Burkina Faso have been ruled by military regimes since coups in 2020 and 2022, respectively, and are both embroiled in political and security crises. The military-led governments have taken repressive measures against the press, suspending a number of foreign media outlets and imprisoning or silencing journalists or critics.

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