HRW urges African rights commission to end Mali junta’s opposition and dissent crackdown News
Lydie maliki, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
HRW urges African rights commission to end Mali junta’s opposition and dissent crackdown

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in a Thursday letter to stop the Malian junta’s crackdown on political opposition and dissent. The group’s call comes as Mali is faced with many cases of forced disappearances or persons detained for politically motivated reasons.

According to HRW, Mali’s military junta has continuously attacked its political opposition, peaceful dissent, civil society, and the media since it took power in the 2021 coup. As a result, many political and civil society organizations have been dissolved, as well as journalists and political opponents arbitrarily arrested. Politicians have been arrested for exercising their human rights, including the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. Additionally, there have been increased cases of forced disappearance of political figures and whistleblowers.

In its letter, HRW recounted that “at least 11 people are currently detained across Mali for politically motivated reasons,” including three members of the opposition party African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence who were arrested in June 2023 for exposing military abuses. The trio are still in prison despite a ruling by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ordering the Malian authorities to release them. The country’s main opposition coalition, the March 31 Declaration’s Opposition Platform, also suffered a blow last year after 12 members were arrested. All 12 members have long been released, as 11 still face charges.

Some notable cases include those of political commentator Issa Kaou N’Djim and junta critic Daouda Magassa. N’Djim was detained for his critical remarks about the military junta in Burkina Faso on a local television station, Joliba TV News. He was later sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $1,600. Joliba TV News also lost its license following a complaint from Burkina Faso. Previously, in 2021, N’Djim was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence for comments on social media that were deemed subversive. 

Daouda Magassa, a member of the pro-democracy Coordination of Movements, Associations, and Supporters of Imam Mahmoud Dicko (CMAS), was abducted in February. According to Radio France Internationale, his whereabouts are still uncertain despite being held at the National Agency for State Security. Magassa’s detention has been linked to his active involvement in Imam Dicko’s planned return to Mali, which was initially set for February 14 but later rescheduled for security reasons. 

Mali is a signatory to both the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The African Charter guarantees the right to liberty, freedom from arbitrary detention, and the freedom of expression within the law, among others. On the other hand, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance prohibits secret detentions, protects liberties, and guards against forced disappearances. It also guarantees to relatives of the person deprived of liberty, their representatives, or their counsel access to at least the information on whereabouts, date, time, and place of release.

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