Mali authorities on Monday said they have started an inquiry into the violation of state security, reported Africa News. The move comes after six of the country’s prominent figures were detained for questioning earlier this month in connection to the August coup.
The August 18 coup in ousted Mali’s longtime leader President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and led to the formation of a transitional government to oversee a return to civilian rule within the next 18 months.
The public prosecutor in Mali’s capital city Bamako said judicial investigators have launched a preliminary inquiry following a report by the security services relating to violations of state security.
“The accused … have been placed at the disposal of the [investigators],” prosecutor Mamoudou Kassogue said in a statement.
He added that the inquiry was ongoing.
According to security sources, the authorities detained six people on December 21 for an attempted destabilization and coup, including Aguibou Tall, who is the half-brother of former Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, and Sekou Traore, the secretary of the president’s office.
Another popular figure who has been detained is Mohamed Youssouf Bathily, a campaigner and radio presenter who is popular among young Malians.
After the arrests, the social media said there had been a scheme to destabilize transitional institutions set up after the August 18 coup.
Boubou Cisse, the last prime minister under former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, denied involvement in any such planned destabilization of the transitional institution, which is supposed to bring civilians back to power. His lawyers said Cisse’s home in Mali’s Bamako was searched by unidentified men last week.
The Malian Association for Human Rights (AMDH) said it had visited those detained at a gendarmerie base between December 24 and 27.
Zana Kone, Bathily’s lawyer, said his client was doing well and had not been maltreated. He said Bathily’s dreadlock-style hair had been shaved off.
