Malian journalist given 2-year prison sentence for insulting Niger’s president

Dakar, March 24, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Malian authorities to release journalist Youssouf Sissoko, who was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison and a fine of 1 million West African francs (US$1,759) for offending a foreign head of state by publishing a commentary piece that criticized Niger’s president.

“The severity of the sentence meted out to journalist Youssouf Sissoko marks an escalation in the Malian government’s hostility towards independent voices,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa representative. “Malian authorities must immediately release Youssouf Sissoko and respect the right of the press to comment on regional security issues.” 

On March 23, the court of the cybercrime unit in the capital, Bamako, convicted Sissoko, publishing director of the privately owned weekly L’Alternance, on three counts of offending a foreign head of state, spreading false news, and undermining the state’s credibility.

The journalist was arrested on February 5 for publishing an analyst’s commentary in L’Alternance that criticized neighboring Niger’s President Abdourahamane Tiani’s allegation that the leaders of France, Benin, and Ivory Coast had sponsored “mercenaries” to attack a Nigerien military base in January.

“This judicial decision sets a dangerous precedent that could further weaken media outlets, which are already facing many difficulties,” said Boubacar Yalkoué, president of the Association of Private Press Publishers of Mali (ASSEP).

In Mali, several journalists have been arrested or expelled, and multiple media outlets have been suspended, since a coup in 2020.

Following military coups, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso established the Alliance of Sahel States to fight security threats from jihadist militants, while also ramping up media restrictions. They have suspended and banned several French media outlets, as well as arresting and forcibly conscripting journalists in recent years.

CPJ’s calls to the Malian ministry of justice went unanswered.