Chahana Takiou, publisher of the biweekly newspaper “22 September”, was summoned by the prosecutor of the cybercrime unit on Monday afternoon. His summons came after he openly criticised the ruling junta during the Pan-African Media Forum held in Bamako from June 3 to 6.
Chahana Takiou was placed under a detention warrant for “undermining the credit of the state through the judicial institution”. His trial is scheduled for July 27.
Family members of Mr. Takiou confirmed his detention.
“There is no peace dynamic in Mali. You arrest journalists and instead of judging them under the press law and press offences in Mali, you apply the cybercrime law,” Takiou said during a panel at the forum moderated by Idrissa Hamidou Touré, prosecutor of a Bamako court.
In a statement released Monday evening, the Maison de la Presse in Mali expressed its “incomprehension” and “deep concern” following the journalist’s incarceration.
“The Maison de la Presse and professional media organisations strongly condemn this detention order, which tarnishes the image of justice, the press, and our country,” the statement said, calling it “a flagrant and serious attack on freedom of opinion and press.”
