Mali journalist jailed after speaking out against junta at media conference

A Malian journalist was taken into custody on Monday following his summons to appear before a judge, days after he openly condemned the military rulers during a media gathering in Bamako.

Chahana Takiou, publisher of the biweekly newspaper “22 Septembre,” had been summoned by the prosecutor at the cybercrime unit on Monday afternoon after his remarks at the Pan-African Media Forum held in Bamako from June 3 to 6.

“Journalist Chahana Takiou has been placed under a detention warrant for ‘undermining the credibility of the state through the judicial institution,'” a judicial official speaking anonymously said on Monday evening. His trial is scheduled for July 27.

Relatives of Mr. Takiou confirmed his detention.

“There is no peace dynamic in Mali. You arrest journalists and instead of trying them under press laws and press offenses in Mali, you apply the cybercrime law,” Mr. Takiou had declared during the forum, in a panel moderated by Idrissa Hamidou Touré, a prosecutor from a Bamako court.

In a statement Monday evening, the Maison de la Presse in Mali expressed its “incomprehension” and “deep concern” over the journalist’s incarceration.

“The Maison de la Presse and professional media organizations strongly condemn this detention warrant, which tarnishes the image of justice, the press, and our country,” the statement said, adding that it constitutes “a flagrant and serious attack on freedom of opinion and the press.”