Mali

The political crisis that erupted in the once stable and peaceful West African country of Mali in early 2012 led to significant deterioration of media and general human rights conditions in the country. A report by the Media Foundation for West Africa analyses the state of the media as Mali recovers from the conflict.

Charges against Boukary Daou – who published an army officer’s open letter in a privately-owned newspaper – were dropped on 30 April.

Boukary Daou was released from Bamako’s main prison on 2 April 2013. He is charged with “inciting disobedience” and “publishing false news” for printing an army officer’s open letter on his newspaper’s front page.

Boukary Daou was released from Bamako’s main prison on 2 April 2013. He is charged with “inciting disobedience” and “publishing false news” for printing an army officer’s open letter on his newspaper’s front page.

Freedom House guest blogger Thomas R. Lansner critiques mainstream media coverage of Mali’s conflict. He notes that most of the photos available, as the French newspaper Liberation observes, “have the feeling of having been produced by the school of fine arts of war….”

Boukary Daou has been charged with “inciting disobedience” and “publishing false news” after having published an army officer’s open letter to the interim president.

On 11 March, journalists declared an indefinite strike to demand the release editor Boukary Daou, who has been detained without charge since 6 March by Mali’s intelligence agency.

Dramane Traore was stabbed on the top of the head two weeks after an unidentified man warned that he would be killed unless he resigned from Radio Kayira and cut his ties with the opposition SADI political party.

Boukary Ndaou was detained shortly after his newspaper published an open letter criticising President Dioncounda Traoré for the financial benefits granted to an army officer.

Listen to some of the music that Mali’s musicians have put out in the face of musical censorship by religious extremists.

Journalists with a French 24-hour news channel, TV5 Monde and Reuters were detained by soldiers for several hours on 8 February in Bamako. Ever since the start of the French military intervention in Mali, journalists have been having a great deal of difficulty in getting access to information, especially in the war zones.

The French and Malian authorities are preventing journalists from getting within 100 km of areas where military operations are under way. It is particularly difficult to find out what is happening in the embattled city of Gao, where phone networks have been down since the start of the week, preventing any contact with local residents, journalists or anyone else.

Fadoul Abderazak and Salihu Awalu were detained by Malian authorities while attempting to cross into militant-controlled territory. A spokesman for the Malian Defense Ministry said that the journalists had been stopped to prevent them from being taken hostage.

Members of an Islamist group in Mali beat radio journalist Malick Aliou Maiga until he was unconscious and ordered his station, Radio Adar Khoima, off the air.

ARTICLE 19 is concerned over a spate of assaults on and threats against journalists and is calling on the authorities to take immediate action to protect them.

Masked gunmen stormed the offices of “L’Indépendant” newspaper, firing into the air to disperse staff and bystanders before seizing publisher Saouti Labass Haïdara and taking him away.