Broadcast suspension and arrests of journalists: in Mali, nearly six years of transition marked by repression

June has been a difficult month for the press in Mali. Since 19 June, listeners have been unable to voice their concerns on "Allo Klédu", a phone-in programme broadcast by the private radio station Klédu. The High Authority for Communication (HAC) decided tosuspended the programme for two months, on the grounds that "several contributions broadcast [had] violate[d] the limits of audiovisual communication " - a decision that is both unjustified and manifestly abusive.

Also in June, the day after the Pan-African Media Forum - held from 3 to 6 June in Bamako to celebrate press freedom and defend African media - the directors of the newspaper 22 Septembre, Chahana Takiou, and of Le Témoin, Abderhmane Keïta, were arrested, bringing to three the number of journalists now held in detention in Mali, all charged under the cybercrime law. ChahanaTakiou faces charges of allegedly "undermining the credibility of the State through its judicial institutions", while Keïta is accused of, among other things, "an offence of a regionalist nature likely to undermine national unity and the credibility of the State". These latest reprisals against journalism are yet another illustration of the grave climate of repression in which journalists operate in the country, one that has fallen 22 places in five years in RSF's World Press Freedom Index, dropping from 99th to 121st.

The detention of the two journalists has been sharply criticised by the press community, including The Maison de la Presse, which in one of its statements, expressed regret that, despite numerous initiatives to improve relations between the press and the judiciary, the latter has "fallen short of creating a space of peace and understanding."

Over the past five years, pressure on journalists has taken many forms, with reporters caught between the ruling power and various armed terrorist groups. The Malian authorities have also stepped up efforts to promote patriotic coverage of the news, relying in particular on a repressive legislative arsenal and a media regulator - the HAC - which is perceived as often taking decisions in the regime's favour.

The "cybercrime law" being weaponised against journalists

Chahana Takoui and Abdramane Keïta - whose trials are scheduled for 27 July and 17 August, respectively - are not the first journalists to fall victim to the cybercrime law. Before them, the journalist Youssouf Sissoko, director of the newspaper L'Alternance, was sentenced by the national centre for combating cybercrime on 23 March 23 2026 to two years in prison and a fine of 1 million CFA francs (about €1,525), after the publication of an opinion article critical of Niger's head of state, General Abdourahamane Tiani.

The cybercrime law, which remains a source of debate within the profession, was also used in November 2025 to detain the director of the newspaper L'Empire, Boubacar Traoré, who was sued for defamation by the owner of the company Petro-Bama over an article about an alleged land dispute involving him.

From censorship of international media to silencing the local press

In March 2022, the suspension of Radio France Internationale (RFI) and the television channel France 24 across the country marked the beginning of what became an overt offensive by the authorities against international media. Since 2022, four French outlets have been suspended in Mali in addition to RFI and France 24: the channels TV5 Monde, France 2, and more recently TF1 and LCI.

The crackdown then extended to Malian media. The suspension of "Allo Klédu" is the latest example. In 2025, radio stations Aadar Koïma in Gao, Aadar Koukia in Ansongo and Radio Kayira in Kolondiéba were each suspended for three months for denouncing the conduct of certain military personnel or relaying criticism of the authorities.

Prior to this, the channel Joliba TV News was suspended for two months following an editorial the junta deemed too critical. In 2024, the authorities went even further: the HAC suspended the channel for six months following a complaint from its Burkinabe counterpart. That move symbolised a step towards an alignment of narratives across the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which groups Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. A symbol of independence in Mali, Joliba TV News finally resumed broadcasting on 30 June 2025, despite severe financial strain.

Self-censorship in the face of reprisals

The overall climate has favoured self-censorship for several years now, as RSF documented in its 2023 report What it's like to be a journalist in the Sahel. The limited coverage of the recent attacks of 25 April 2026 illustrates the self-censorship that journalists and certain media outlets are increasingly forced to resort to. While the assassination of Defence Minister Sadio Camara had been confirmed and reported by several international outlets, a large part of the national press held back, "preferring to wait for confirmation from the army general staff" in order to publish the story without risking reprisals.

Economy: a press without support amid a severe electricity crisis

These difficulties are compounded by economic strangulation. Public aid to the press in Mali , crucial to the survival of many media outlets, has not been distributed since January 2021. Introduced in 1996 by President Alpha Oumar Konaré to support the growth of private media and press freedom, the subsidy had been capped at 200 million CFA francs (approximately €300,000) per year until its last disbursement. The suspension of this public funding has further weakened independent and private media, already operating in precarious conditions.

The banning of several non-governmental organisations and the withdrawal of international bodies has dealt an additional blow to media revenues. These organisations were key partners, purchasing advertising space and suppor for the production of educational content.

A deteriorating security environment: one journalist killed, seven abducted by armed groups

Over the past five years, several media professionals have been abducted or killed by armed groups. In central and northern Mali, the main perpetrators of journalist kidnappings are terrorist armed groups, chief among them Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

• In April 2021 in Gao, the abduction of French freelance journalist Olivier Dubois, a correspondent for the daily newspaper Libération and the Africa desk of Le Point magazine, claimed by JNIM sparked a strong international response. He was not released until 20 March 2023.
• The 2020 and 2021kidnappings of two community radio journalists, Hamadoun Nialibouly and Moussa M'Bana Dicko, in the centre of the country - which remain unclaimed and unresolved - also marked this period of insecurity.
• In 2023, radio journalist Abdoul Aziz Djibrilla of Naata radio was killed, Harouna Attino of Alafia radio was wounded. Radio Coton Ansongo director Saleck Ag Jiddou and presenter Moustapha Koné were abducted in anattack carried out by an unidentified armed group, and remain missing to this day.

Two employees of the Office de radiodiffusion télévision du Mali (ORTM) public broadcaster - which became a state broadcaster under Assimi Goïta - Daouda Koné and his camera man Salif Sangaré, were abducted on 14 October 2025 between Sévaré and Konna in central Mali. They were eventually released on 29 December.

Mali ranks 121st out of 180 countries and territories in RSF's World Press Freedom Index 2026.