A Malian appeals court has upheld the prison sentence of Etienne Sissoko Fakaba, a prominent academic who was convicted earlier this year for criticising the country’s ruling junta. The decision, made on Monday, was confirmed by his lawyer, Ibrahim Marouf Sacko.
Etienne Sissoko, an economist and university professor, was sentenced in May to two years in prison, with one year of the sentence suspended. He was convicted for the content of his 2023 book, “Propaganda, Agitation and Harassment, Government Communication During the Transition in Mali”. The charges against him included harming the reputation of the state, defamation, and dissemination of false news disturbing public peace.
The appeals court in the capital, Bamako, upheld the conviction, despite several delays in his trial. Etienne Sissoko, who has been in detention since late March, remains one of the few remaining voices of dissent in a country where critics of the junta are increasingly targeted. The junta came to power following coups in 2020 and 2021, which have since led to a crackdown on opposition.
Sissoko’s book critiques the Malian government’s communication strategies, accusing it of relying on propaganda, agitation, manipulation, and even lies, according to the publishers’ online summary. Sissoko, who previously served as an advisor to ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, had already spent several months in prison in 2022.
Mali has been embroiled in a political and security crisis since 2012, exacerbated by attacks from armed insurgencies and separatist movements in the north.
