In brief
Mamadou Hawa Gassama has received a three-year jail sentence in Ivory Coast for calling Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara a 'tyrant' and criticizing his leadership. The Malian lawmaker was arrested during a visit to Ivory Coast. His case has heightened tensions stemming from diplomatic issues since the military takeover in Mali in 2020.
A Malian lawmaker has been jailed in neighbouring Ivory Coast for three years for insulting the 84-year-old Ivorian leader, who recently won a fourth term in office. Mamadou Hawa Gassama, who serves in the transitional parliament set up by Mali's junta, was arrested last July while on a trip to Ivory Coast. Prosecutors said he described President Alassane Ouattara as a 'tyrant', 'an enemy of Mali' and strongly criticised his leadership in interviews and on social media.Since Mali's military took power in 2020, relations with Ivory Coast have been strained. Ouattara, an ally of France - the former colonial power in both nations - has been critical of the takeover and other coups in West Africa.Since the Malian politician's arrest in Abidjan last July, the authorities in Bamako have not commented on the case. Gassama's lawyer described the sentence as excessive, arguing that it was very severe. Prosecutors accused him of undermining Ivorian institutions and sowing discord between the two neighbours.This incident highlights the ongoing diplomatic tensions that have persisted since Mali's military takeover, including a previous case in which Ivorian soldiers were sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mali for undermining state security, an allegation Ivory Coast denied, claiming they were there on a UN mission to combat militant Islamists. Under the current military leadership, Mali has sought to strengthen ties with Russia, while expelling Western forces amid the ongoing security crisis in the region.
