Mali\u2019s ruling junta arrested one of the country\u2019s top politicians Wednesday for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso, according to his son and a judiciary source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Issa Kaou N\u2019Djim, who previously supported Mali\u2019s current military leader Col. Assimi Goita before distancing himself, was arrested on charges of insulting a foreign head of state, which is a crime in Mali, an employee of the court system said. The court employee spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he wasn\u2019t authorized to talk to reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
N\u2019Djim had claimed on the Joliba TV News broadcaster on Sunday that the military rulers of Burkina Faso, a close ally of Mali, made up evidence of a\u00a0foiled coup in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The politician was placed in custody and taken to the main prison in Mali\u2019s capital Bamako on Wednesday, his son, Ousmane N\u2019djim, said. \u201cHe knows he is being arrested because of his political struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The director of Joliba TV News has also been called for interrogation by the authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mali and Burkina Faso have been ruled by military regimes since\u00a0coups in 2020 and 2022, capitalizing on popular discontent with previous democratically elected governments over security issues. Together with Niger, another junta-led country in the region, they form the Alliance of Sahel States, or AES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
N\u2019Djim was one of the vice presidents of the National Transitional Council (CNT), Mali\u2019s legislative body under the junta. He later distanced himself from the military regime and said he favored a return to electoral democracy. In 2021, he was handed a six-month prison sentence after he criticized the military regime on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The security situation in the three AES countries has\u00a0worsened over the past couple of years,\u00a0analysts say, with a record number of attacks by Islamic extremists. Government forces have been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants while\u00a0cracking down on political dissent and journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June, Malian authorities\u00a0arrested eleven opposition politicians and several activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amnesty International called for N\u2019Djim\u2019s release in a post on the social media platform X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mali\u2019s ruling junta arrested one of the country\u2019s top politicians Wednesday for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso, according to his son and a judiciary source. Issa Kaou N\u2019Djim, who previously supported Mali\u2019s current military leader Col. Assimi Goita before distancing himself, was arrested on charges of insulting a foreign head of state, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,16,15],"tags":[7,26,25],"class_list":{"0":"post-39840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-news","9":"category-politics","10":"tag-apie-project","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-politics"},"yoast_head":"\n