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Washington Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Mali political activist freed after monthlong abduction
BAMAKO, Mali — A leading political activist whose family said that he was abducted by Mali's military authorities has been released after a month in captivity, his relatives said Sunday. Alassane Abba, one of the leaders of the former political party Codem, was dropped off along a road in Mali's capital, Bamako, on Thursday, Alhousseini Jannatta Alassane, his son, told The Associated Press.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Mali political activist freed after monthlong abduction
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A leading political activist whose family said that he was abducted by Mali's military authorities has been released after a month in captivity, his relatives said Sunday. Alassane Abba, one of the leaders of the former political party Codem, was dropped off along a road in Mali's capital, Bamako, on Thursday, Alhousseini Jannatta Alassane, his son, told The Associated Press. 'No authority has confirmed their involvement, but we believe the intelligence services were behind the kidnapping,' he said. Intelligence services in Mali don't speak with the media about such cases, and other government authorities weren't immediately available to comment. Abba, who was the secretary-general of the Codem party, was seized and taken away on May 9 shortly after he spoke out against the crackdown on civic rights in the country and the ruling junta's failure to hold an election since a coup in 2021. His arrest came amid pro-democracy demonstrations in Bamako that criticized the growing dictatorship under the junta and called for the return of democracy. Several political figures are still detained after criticizing the military government's power. Mali, a landlocked nation in the semiarid region of Sahel, has been embroiled in political and security instability that swept across West and Central Africa over the last decade. The nation has seen two military coups since 2020 as an insurgency by jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group worsened. Arrests of pro-democracy activists have multiplied in response to demonstrations. In May, Gen. Assimi Goita, president of the country's transitional government, signed a decree dissolving political parties following a demonstration by several hundred pro-democracy activists.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 activists who criticized Mali military rulers were seized and taken away, relatives say
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — At least two Malian pro-democracy activists, including a prominent political party leader, were taken away in Bamako by armed men after criticizing the military government and calling for a return to constitutional order and elections, their families and colleagues said. Mali 's military government this week suspended political party activities, days after the first pro-democracy rally since soldiers took power by force almost four years ago. The son of Alassane Abba, secretary-general of the Codem party, said three armed, hooded men dressed in military fatigues entered their house on Thursday evening and took the politician away 'in a car with black tinted windows and no license plate.' Alhousseini Jannatta Alassane told The Associated Press that the armed men 'did not look like bandits." On the same day, in Kati, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Bamako, a Yelema party activist, El Bachir Thiam, was forced by armed men into their car before being driven to an unknown destination. 'We learned today of the arrest of our activist El Bachir Thiam and I call on the Malian authorities to release him. I call on those who arrested him to release him. A country is not built on gag orders,' former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, honorary president of the Yelema party, said in a video posted on his Facebook page. Both El Bachir Thiam and Alassane Abba have made media appearances criticizing the military government and calling for a return to constitutional order. Mamadou Traoré, president of the Alternative for Mali party, was arrested last month after he criticized the military and the use of Russian mercenaries by Mali's transitional authorities. Military leader Gen. Assimi Goita seized power following coups in 2020 and 2021. Last week, a national political conference said he should be installed as president for a renewable five-year term.
San Francisco Chronicle
09-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
2 activists who criticized Mali military rulers were seized and taken away, relatives say
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — At least two Malian pro-democracy activists, including a prominent political party leader, were taken away in Bamako by armed men after criticizing the military government and calling for a return to constitutional order and elections, their families and colleagues said. Mali 's military government this week suspended political party activities, days after the first pro-democracy rally since soldiers took power by force almost four years ago. The son of Alassane Abba, secretary-general of the Codem party, said three armed, hooded men dressed in military fatigues entered their house on Thursday evening and took the politician away 'in a car with black tinted windows and no license plate.' Alhousseini Jannatta Alassane told The Associated Press that the armed men 'did not look like bandits." On the same day, in Kati, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Bamako, a Yelema party activist, El Bachir Thiam, was forced by armed men into their car before being driven to an unknown destination. 'We learned today of the arrest of our activist El Bachir Thiam and I call on the Malian authorities to release him. I call on those who arrested him to release him. A country is not built on gag orders,' former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, honorary president of the Yelema party, said in a video posted on his Facebook page. Both El Bachir Thiam and Alassane Abba have made media appearances criticizing the military government and calling for a return to constitutional order.
