Mali Court Sentences Journalist and Influencer to Seven Years for Criticising Junta
The ruling military government tightens its grip on dissent as prominent broadcaster and campaigner receive custodial sentences for discrediting the state.
A Malian court in Bamako has sentenced prominent broadcaster Mohamed Youssouf Bathily and influencer Rokia Doumbia to seven years in jail for criticising the ruling military junta. The conviction, handed down by the Bamako Court of Appeal’s criminal chamber, marks the latest in a series of legal actions taken against voices opposing the government led by General Assimi Goïta.
The court convicted both individuals of criminal conspiracy and discrediting the state, charges stemming from a 2023 television programme that highlighted the economic difficulties facing ordinary Malians. Bathily, a well-known television and radio commentator also known as Ras Bath, and Doumbia, who campaigns online under the name "Rose, the cost of living", were found guilty of associating to undermine state authority.
Prosecutors alleged that the broadcaster and the influencer were acting in association, noting that Bathily had invited Doumbia onto his show on two previous occasions. Bathily’s legal team denied these accusations, arguing against the premise of a coordinated conspiracy. The court also imposed three years’ suspended sentences on both defendants in addition to their immediate custodial terms.
Both individuals have been in custody since March 2023, following the airing of the programme that examined the cost of living crisis. When Bathily took the stand at the trial, which opened on 10 August 2026, his emaciated and gaunt physical condition shocked many observers. Lawyers speaking on condition of anonymity reported that the prosecutor described Bathily as a danger to the junta who must be kept away from social media and radio platforms.
The sentencing underscores the severe restrictions on freedoms imposed by the military government, which seized power through back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. The junta has systematically squeezed dissident voices through the courts and coercion, while failing to meet its deadline to hand power back to civilians. The legal proceedings occur against a backdrop of ongoing security instability in the Sahel, where the country has faced violence from jihadist groups and armed separatists since 2012.
