Former Mali prime minister Moussa Mara has been found guilty of “undermining” the country by a court in Bamako during the military regime.
Published October 27, 2025
A court in Mali has sentenced former prime minister Moussa Mara to one year in prison over social media posts expressing solidarity with political prisoners in the country under military rule.
Mara, who led the country’s government for eight months from 2014 to 2015, was found guilty on Monday by the National Cybercrime Center Court in the capital Bamako of “undermining the trust of the state and violating legitimate authority.”
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Mara was sentenced to one year in prison without parole, suspended for 12 months, and fined 500,000 CFA francs (approximately 88,000 yen).
The 50-year-old has been in prison since August 1, weeks after naming several political prisoners he had met in a social media post and declaring his “unwavering solidarity with prisoners of conscience.”
“As long as the night lasts, the sun will always appear! I will fight with all my might to make it happen as soon as possible!” read his July 4th message on X.
“A travesty of justice”
After Monday’s verdict, Mara’s lawyers announced they had filed an appeal against what they called a “particularly harsh sentence.”
“The legal fight does not end today. We will continue with the same determination, based on law and truth,” the lawyers said in a statement.
A close friend of Mara’s told AFP on condition of anonymity that the court’s decision was not surprising, but said Mara had not committed any crime.
“We expected that,” he said. “Please tell me what his crime is.”
Mali is ruled by a military junta led by General Assimi Goita, who seized power in successive coups in 2020 and 2021.
Despite promises to return to civilian rule by 2024, elections were postponed indefinitely, political parties were dissolved, and Goita was given another five years in power this year.
Amnesty International called Mara’s sentence a “travesty of justice” and called on Mali’s military junta to “stop escalating its crackdown on peaceful dissent and authoritarian acts, and immediately release those currently detained solely for voicing their opinions.”
