Mali jails ally of junta critic Imam

DAKAR: Mali on Monday jailed an ally of an influential Imam critical of the ruling junta for “opposing the legitimate authorities”, a judicial source said, the latest in a harsh crackdown on dissent.

Youssouf Daba Diawara was the general coordinator of the political movement of Imam Mahmoud Dicko, one of the last outspoken critics of the West African country´s military rulers. The colonels who seized power in a 2020 coup dissolved the Imam´s Coordination of Movements (CMAS) in April. Diawara was arrested on Friday by men in a four-by-four vehicle who claimed to be policemen, one of his relatives told AFP.

He is accused of having organised a political activity in June, in defiance of the authorities´ suspension of political parties and activities between April and early July, a judicial source at a Bamako court told AFP.

The Bamako court on Monday jailed Diawara for “opposing the legitimate authorities”, the same source told AFP. Diawara is closely associated with imam Dicko, a key player in the mass opposition protests that led to the toppling of president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020. The religious leader is one of the few people who openly dares to express his disagreement with and mobilise mass support against the increasingly draconian junta.