Three journalists are currently imprisoned in Mali (a landlocked West African country under military rule since a 2021 coup) following their reporting on sensitive political topics. Chahana Takiou, director of the newspaper 22 Septembre, and Abdrahamane Keita, director of Le Témoin, were detained on 8 and 9 June respectively — the former after criticising the Malian judiciary's disregard for press law, the latter after reporting that the northern city of Kidal is now controlled by jihadist group JNIM, an al-Qaeda affiliate. A third journalist, Youssouf Sissoko, has already spent more than four months behind bars after being sentenced to two years for an article questioning remarks by Niger's president, a close ally of Mali's transitional government. Mali's Maison de la Presse (the national journalists' association) held an emergency general assembly and has opted for quiet institutional dialogue with authorities to seek the men's release, a cautious approach that has drawn criticism from journalists who say it lacks courage given the gravity of the situation.