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.