A Malian court has sentenced prominent broadcaster and activist Mohamed Youssouf Bathily — widely known as Ras Bath — to seven years in prison after convicting him of criminal conspiracy and discrediting the state. His co-defendant, social media influencer Rokia Doumbia, known online as "Rose, the cost of living," received the same sentence. Both were additionally handed three-year suspended terms on top of their effective jail time. The verdict, delivered on Monday at the Bamako Court of Appeal's criminal chamber, drew immediate condemnation from civil society groups and the defendants' legal team.

Ras Bath, a 53-year-old television and radio commentator with a devoted following among young Malians, had been held since March 2023, more than two years before his trial opened on 10 August. His motto, "shock to educate," defined a career built on direct, unsparing criticism of Mali's social and political failings. When he appeared in court, his visibly gaunt and emaciated condition shocked observers. Prosecutors argued that by inviting Doumbia — who campaigns against the rising cost of living — onto his programme on two occasions, the pair had acted in criminal association. They also charged him with undermining state authority through social media posts in which he suggested that former prime minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maiga, who died in custody in 2022, had been murdered rather than having died of natural causes. Prosecutors were explicit about their aims: according to two lawyers speaking anonymously to AFP, they told the court that "Ras Bath is a danger" to the junta and "must be kept a long way from social media and the radio." The defence rejected all charges and has announced it will appeal to the Supreme Court.

The case reflects a broader pattern of repression in Mali, a landlocked Sahel nation that has been governed by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Under General Assimi Goïta, the junta has dissolved political parties, curtailed press freedom, and failed to honour a commitment to return power to civilians by March 2024. The country has also been engulfed since 2012 in a serious security crisis driven by jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, as well as armed separatists and criminal networks. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders ranks Mali 121st out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.

Ras Bath's path to becoming one of Mali's most prominent dissident voices has been long and turbulent. He participated in the 2020 M5-RFP protest movement that contributed to the ousting of civilian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita — a government he had fiercely criticised for corruption. He was initially not opposed to the subsequent military takeover, but was arrested in December 2020 on coup-plotting charges that were later dropped for lack of evidence. His current detention, now stretching into a third year, marks a sharp escalation. Human rights defenders, including the head of Mali's Network of Human Rights Defenders, condemned the sentences, with one stating: "Such things would not have happened in a democracy." Political figures, speaking anonymously given the ban on party activity, suggested the junta feared Ras Bath's popularity above all else. Even some junta supporters described the sentence as heavy, with others expressing hope for a presidential pardon.