A court in Mali has sentenced journalist Alfousseini Togo to an eight-month suspended prison term and a fine of 500,000 CFA francs (approximately USD 815), nearly four months after he was arrested and detained for publishing an article critical of the country’s Minister of Justice.
The verdict was delivered on July 28, 2025, by the National Cybercrime Unit (Pôle national de Lutte contre la Cybercriminalité) in Bamako. Togo, editor of the newspaper Le Canard de la Venise, was found guilty of defamation, disturbing public order, and “undermining the credibility of the judiciary” following his criticism of official claims about a public trust survey.
The charges stemmed from an article published on April 8 titled “Malian justice or the plague of the century: the mistake made by Minister Mamoudou Kassogué.” In it, Togo challenged the accuracy of survey data cited by the Minister, who claimed that public confidence in Mali’s judiciary had increased from 30% to 72% in 2024. Togo argued that the sample size of just over 2,000 respondents was unrepresentative for a country of more than 23 million people.
He was arrested by the National Cybercrime Unit (Pôle national de Lutte contre la Cybercriminalité) on April 9 and remained in detention until May 12, when he was granted provisional release on bail of 500,000 CFA francs (USD 847). His case was heard on June 12 and judgment was reserved until the end of July. At the July 28 hearing, the judge informed Togo that he may appeal the sentence.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) remains deeply concerned about the continued use of legal proceedings to silence critical journalism in Mali. Although Togo is not returning to prison, the sentence sends a troubling message to journalists who report on matters of public interest, particularly where powerful institutions like the judiciary are concerned.
We reiterate our call for all charges against Alfousseini Togo to be dropped and urge the Malian authorities to ensure that press laws are not abused to target journalists for doing their work.
