In Mali, Youssouf Daba Diawara, coordinator of the Coordination of Movements, Associations and Sympathizers of Imam Mahmoud Dicko (CMAS), was sentenced on October 3, 2024 to two months in prison. He should be released today. He was prosecuted for “ opposition to legitimate authority », after his participation in an unauthorized opposition demonstration. His lawyers welcome the release of Youssouf Diawara but deplore a conviction deemed unfounded.
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Those close to Youssouf Diawara are relieved, but in the eyes of his lawyers, this is certainly not a victory for Justice.
The defense welcomes the “ clemency » of the judge, who did not impose the maximum sentence provided for by law and who, by attaching a suspended sentence to his sentence, allows Youssouf Diawara to regain his freedom. The hearing having ended late on Thursday evening, the administrative formalities linked to his release could not be carried out but Youssouf Diawara should be released this Friday.
Unfounded conviction
However, Youssouf Diawara’s lawyers believe that his participation in a demonstration which had not received the necessary authorizations – it was last June, to demand electricity and elections – should have earned him a fine, but in no case a conviction for “opposition to legitimate authority”.
The court therefore went “in the direction of the crime”, which is denounced by Youssouf Diawara’s lawyers, who also recall that the CMAS coordinator has just spent two and a half months in prison, pre-trial detention perceived as excessive. “ The sentence handed down proves that the facts were not extremely serious », Estimates one of his lawyers.
Since the start of the procedure, Youssouf Dicko’s entourage has denounced a trial ” policy “.
Message to Imam Dicko
The judge’s motivations are not known, as the drafting of the judgment has not yet been transmitted. Asked by RFI to clarify this decision, the prosecutor of the court of Commune 5 of Bamako did not wish to comment.
Youssouf Diawara was arrested last June by armed, hooded men without a warrant, more than a month after the demonstration in question, which was organized by the Synergie d’action pour le Mali, a grouping of political parties and civil society organizations demanding a return to constitutional order.
Youssouf Diawara is therefore free but the message addressed to his mentor is clear. Imam Mahmoud Dicko, former president of the High Islamic Council of Mali, who has become a fierce opponent of the transitional authorities, has been a refugee in Algeria since December 2023. If he planned to return to Bamako, his return would be complicated to say the least.
Political procedures
Many political or civil society figures are still incarcerated in Mali, within the framework of procedures considered “ policies » by human rights organizations. We can in particular cite the cases of Ras Bath, Rose dear life, Clement Dembélé, Etienne Fakaba Sissoko or the eleven former ministers and political leaders of the “Declaration of March 31” demanding the return to constitutional order in Mali. Arrested on June 20 after meeting in a private home, their request for release was accepted by the investigating judge, but was the subject of an appeal by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.