Military Leader of Mali Grants Pardon to Ivorian Soldiers and Suspends 46 Prison Sentences
The leader of Mali’s junta has granted clemency to 49 Ivorian soldiers who were arrested in July on allegations of plotting against the Malian government, according to a statement from the presidency on Friday.
The arrest of the soldiers had led to a diplomatic row between Mali and Ivory Coast, and had been widely condemned by regional leaders who were already at odds with the international community.
The soldiers were detained at the airport in Bamako, the capital of Mali, with Malian authorities alleging that they were working as mercenaries, while Ivory Coast insisted that they were part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali.
Three of the detainees, who were women, were released later, but the remaining 46 were sentenced to 20 years in prison on December 30, 2022, for allegedly attempting to destabilize state security. The three women who were released were sentenced to death in absentia.
The government spokesman, Abdoulaye Maiga, stated that President Assimi Goita “granted pardon and fully revoked the sentences of the 49 Ivorian (soldiers),” and described the move as a sign of the president’s commitment to peace, dialogue, and pan-Africanism.
The statement called the decision an “independent decision” that demonstrated the president’s dedication to good governance and “maintaining fraternal relations” with countries in the region, particularly Ivory Coast. The statement did not specify when the soldiers would be released from prison.
The government of Ivory Coast has not yet commented on the announcement. It has previously claimed that its troops were being held hostage and had made repeated appeals for their release.
Mali has become increasingly isolated since military officers seized power in 2023 and failed to deliver on election promises, prompting sanctions from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the main political and economic bloc in West Africa.
Several countries, including Ivory Coast, have decided to withdraw their troops sent to help fight a decade-old insurgency in Mali this year due to the junta’s collaboration with Russian mercenaries. ECOWAS had threatened to impose more sanctions on Mali if the soldiers were not released.
Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe, who was mediating the crisis, met with Goita in Bamako on Thursday before heading to Ivory Coast.