Mali Court Jails Ex-Prime Minister Moussa Mara Over ‘Anti-State’ Social Media Post

Former Malian Prime Minister, Moussa Mara, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a court in Bamako for a social media post deemed to undermine state authority and credibility.

The court ruling, delivered on Monday, also included an additional one-year suspended sentence and a fine of 500,000 CFA francs (approximately $887). Mara, who served as Mali’s Prime Minister between 2014 and 2015, was arrested on August 1 following a July post in which he expressed solidarity with political prisoners and vowed to pursue justice for them.

According to an AFP report, Mara showed no visible emotion as the verdict was read by the National Cybercrime Centre court. Prosecutors had earlier demanded a two-year sentence. His lawyer, Mountaga Tall, said the defense team would review the judgment and determine whether to appeal, insisting that “it’s not over yet.”

A close associate of Mara described the ruling as politically motivated, saying, “We expected it. Tell me what his crime is?” Mali, currently governed by a military junta that seized power in two coups between 2020 and 2021, has intensified its crackdown on dissent, targeting opposition voices, journalists, and political organizations.