Economist and university professor Étienne Fakaba Sissoko was released on Thursday, 27 March 2025, after serving a one-year prison sentence.
His incarceration stemmed from the December 2023 publication of his book Propagande, Agitation et Harcèlement – la communication gouvernementale pendant la transition au Mali, in which he sharply criticized the transitional authorities’ communication practices.
Sissoko was arrested by the Judicial Investigation Brigade on 25 March 2024 and brought before the prosecutor two days later.
On 20 May 2024, the Bamako Commune IV High Court sentenced him to two years in prison, with one year suspended, and imposed a fine of three million CFA francs. He faced charges of damaging the state’s image, defamation, and spreading false news likely to disturb public order.
The case sparked widespread reactions, particularly among human rights advocates and defenders of free expression.
This was not Sissoko’s first arrest under the military junta in Mali.
In January 2022, he was detained over statements deemed subversive after publicly denouncing certain governance practices.
He was released a few months later without a conviction.
His release after a year in prison could signal a shift in the dynamic between the transitional authorities and critical voices. Whether this move heralds a broader push for reconciliation and democratic strengthening remains to be seen.
MD/te/lb/as/APA