Mali journalist Chahana Takiou sentenced to one year cybercrime law

On August 3, 2026, Mali’s national cybercrime court in Bamako sentenced journalist Chahana Takiou, editor of the biweekly 22 Septembre, to one year in prison. He had been arrested on June 8 after publicly criticizing the authorities for using the cybercrime law to prosecute fellow journalist Youssouf Sissoko, who received a two‑year sentence for an article critical of Niger’s military ruler.

Prosecutors charged Takiou with “undermining the credibility of the state through the judicial institution.” His lawyers cited his diabetes and cardiovascular disease in a request for medical release, which was denied. The day after his arrest, another journalist, Abdramane Keïta, director of Le Témoin, was detained for stating on television that the Al‑Qaeda‑linked group Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wa al‑Muslimeen (JNIM) controlled the northern city of Kidal, which JNIM and allied Tuareg fighters recaptured in April 2026.

These cases are part of a broader crackdown by Mali’s military junta, which seized power in 2020 and has increasingly used cybercrime legislation and other criminal charges to silence independent media, activists, and opposition figures.