A court in Bamako, Mali's capital, has sentenced the country's former head of domestic intelligence to 15 years in prison after convicting him of conspiracy against the government, in a ruling that defence lawyers and legal observers have condemned as a politically motivated miscarriage of justice.

Colonel Kassoum Goita — not to be confused with the ruling junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita, despite sharing the same surname — was among six defendants tried over ten days before the criminal chambers of the Bamako Court of Appeal. All six were found guilty; sentences ranged from seven to 15 years. Four defendants, including Kassoum Goita, were convicted of criminal conspiracy and conspiracy against the government and received the maximum 15-year term. Two others, including a former secretary-general of the presidency, were convicted of complicity in the same offences and sentenced to seven years. Each defendant was also ordered to pay a symbolic one CFA franc in damages to the state.

The case has deep roots in Mali's turbulent recent political history. Assimi Goita led the military coup that ousted elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August 2020. Under diplomatic pressure, the junta subsequently transferred power to a civilian-led transitional government, under which Kassoum Goita served as head of state security. That interim government was itself overthrown by Assimi Goita in a second coup in May 2021, reportedly because the transitional president sought to remove certain military figures from his cabinet. Kassoum Goita was dismissed at that point and later detained.

Throughout the trial, Kassoum Goita denied the charges and accused the ruling authorities of embezzling public funds and placing money in offshore accounts — allegations he said were the real reason for his prosecution. He also said he had been subjected to torture during his nearly five years of pre-trial detention. Defence lawyers argued that procedural irregularities rendered the prosecution invalid, and pointed out that the sole prosecution witness was unable to identify the accused either by face or by voice in court and that no material evidence of a coup plot was presented. The court did not address the corruption accusations, and no investigation into them has been announced.

The verdict drew sharp criticism from legal figures. Former justice minister and prominent opposition lawyer Mamadou Ismaïla Konaté said the prosecution "rested on nothing" and described the outcome as the product of a judiciary that condemns on command. Defence lawyers said they would appeal to Mali's Supreme Court and, if necessary, seek recourse before international judicial bodies. The ruling adds to mounting concerns about the independence of Mali's judiciary under a military government that has now governed the country without elections for close to six years.