French diplomat receives 20-year sentence in Mali for undermining state security

A French national, apprehended by the military junta in August 2025 on charges of conspiring against state institutions, has been handed a conviction by the criminal chamber of Mali’s specialized anti-terrorism court.

Mali’s judicial system has sentenced a French intelligence operative, who held diplomatic status and had been detained for almost ten months in the capital city of Bamako, to a 20-year prison term. The conviction stems from charges of “undermining state security” within the Sahelian nation, which is currently governed by a military junta.