Violators of Mali's Libel Law Should Be Released Immediately and Law Decriminalized

The government of Mali’s imprisonment of five reporters and a teacher over a high school essay belies the country’s reputation as one of Africa’s most open societies, Freedom House said today, urging their immediate release.

Last week, a Malian reporter and a teacher were sent to jail after an essay, the result of a high school assignment, was published in the domestic paper Info-Matin. The assignment was about the exploits of a fictitious president. Two days ago, four newspaper editors were also taken to prison after reprinting the article. All six were charged with insulting the president.

“The arrest without trial of these six Malians by their government is absurd and highly disappointing,” said Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House. “Mali is seen as having the freest media environment in Africa, and in its role as the chair of the Community of Democracies, it has served as a model of a poor country that affords its citizens their rightful political and civil liberties while still pursuing economic development. This week’s actions mark a turn in the wrong direction.”

In 2007, Freedom House’s annual survey of media freedom, Freedom of the Press, ranked Mali as having the freest press climate in Africa. The survey reported that Mali’s constitution protects the right to free speech, and its government generally respects this right in practice. Nevertheless, under a 1993 law, libel is considered a criminal offence, and severe punishments for libel still exist. While legislation passed in 2000 reduced the maximum penalty for those convicted, the accused still remain guilty until proven innocent.

“Despite some improvements seen this year, a number of governments in Africa still misuse criminal libel laws as a way of controlling dissent, and Mali’s law is not unusual for the region,” said Karin Karlekar, managing editor of Freedom of the Press. “However, in a country that has an otherwise dynamic and frequently critical press environment--and one that is far ahead of its neighbors in terms of civil liberties--the law is out of place and should be decriminalized.”

Freedom House is an independent nongovernmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world.

For more information about Mali, visit:

Freedom in the World 2007: Mali
Freedom of the Press 2007: Mali