Mali: Six ex-president associates tried for conspiracy
Six associates of former transitional president Bah N’Daw were tried for “attempted conspiracy” on the 14th of July. According to RFI, the precise accusations are unknown, while the three civilians and three former army members are being tried after 5 years of detention.
Six years after the coup that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the accused’s lawyers said, “We have been waiting for a very long time. They will finally have the opportunity to prove their innocence.” As the number of political opponents is only growing in Mali, many consider the arrests to be politically motivated by the current military junta led by General Goita, the current leader of Mali.
Amongst the six men, all held important roles in the transitional government. Kassoum Goita led the secret services, while also occupying the role of chief of security of the state; Kalilou Doumbia was the secretary general of the presidency, and the four other men were police commissioners, a businessman and a marabout.
As General Goita organised the second coup of May 2021 for the “rectification of the transitional government”, the six men were arrested during the autumn of 2021 and have been held captive ever since. According to RFI, many were tortured particulalry cruelly before being officially handed over to the justice system.
The defendants’ lawyers have announced that all of them will appear to respond to the accusations in court. In
In December 2021, the lawyers of the accused had filed a complaint for “Criminal conspiracy”, “torture” and “theft” against the current General in charge of State Security, Modibo Kone, one of the five military men at the head of the provisional government that has seen no elections since its arrival to power.
As well as fighting an increasingly worsening civil war against the Al Qaeda-affiliated JNIM, as well as the Azawad Liberation Front, the Malian people are also subjected to the violence of the provisional government, accused of human rights violations and war crimes by international NGO’s, while activists and journalists are systematically arrested.
RFI, Maghrebi.org
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