An Abidjan court on Friday sentenced a Malian politician, Mamadou Hawa Gassama, to three years in prison for insulting Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
Gassama, a member of Mali’s transitional parliament under the country’s military-led government, had described Ouattara as an “enemy of Mali” during an interview with Malian media in September 2022.
Months later, upon entering Côte d’Ivoire, the remarks led to his arrest and subsequent detention.
In its ruling on Friday, the court found him guilty of insulting the head of state and disseminating offensive expressions online. In addition to the three-year prison term, the Abidjan court imposed a three-year ban on residence in Côte d’Ivoire after his release and ordered him to pay a fine, the amount of which was not disclosed.
Reacting to the judgment, Gassama’s lawyer, Mamadou Ismaila Konate, criticised the decision, describing it as excessive and unusually severe.
Gassama is known for his outspoken views and previously served as an opposition lawmaker under former Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was overthrown in Mali’s 2020 military coup.
Diplomatic relations between Mali and Côte d’Ivoire have remained strained since successive coups in Mali in 2020 and 2021, which brought General Assimi Goïta to power in Bamako.
President Ouattara has been a vocal critic of the coups, which have destabilised several countries across West Africa’s Sahel region.