NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Prosecutors in military-junta-ruled Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso on Wednesday opened an investigation into French journalist and researcher Wassim Nasr over what they called his “apology for terrorism” and “complicity” in alleged terrorist acts, in the latest crackdown on Western media. In a statement to The Associated Press, he condemned the move as intimidation and an attack on journalism.
Nasr, who works for French broadcaster France 24, gave a detailed analysis of a rare deadly jihadist attack in Bamako, the capital of Mali, on September 17. Prosecutors accused him of being in contact with the attackers and that they provided him with real-time information about their location, objectives and the death toll.
Nasr also made statements that “amount to blatant publicity and support for the terrorists,” Niger’s deputy prosecutor Manzo Hadiza claimed at a news conference on Wednesday.
Prosecutors from the judicial branches of terrorism in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso all issued the same statement, which was apparently broadcast in concert on their national television channels.
“They are trying to intimidate anyone who continues to contradict their narrative of security and control,” Nasr, who lives in France, told the AP in a WhatsApp message. He said the investigation by the three West African countries was a clear attack on journalism.
“We all need to think about all the journalists and civil society activists who are surviving under the rule of these juntas. They are the ones who need support,” he added.
Local journalists in the Sahel region, which includes Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, are faced with increased security risksthe group for media freedom Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have faced an insurgency by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, for more than a decade. After military coups in all three countries in recent years, the ruling juntas expelled French troops and turned to Russian mercenary units for safety assistance instead
But the security situation in the Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with record numbers of attacks and record numbers of civilians killed by both Islamist militants and government forces. In the first six months of this year, 3,064 civilians were killed by the violence, According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, this is a 25% increase compared to the previous six months.
Meanwhile, the ruling juntas have cracked down on political dissidents and journalists. Earlier this year, Malian authorities banned the media of reporting on the activities of political parties and associations. Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for reporting on a mass killing of civilians by the country’s armed forces. Earlier this year, Niger authorities ordered the closure of the “Maison de la Presse”, an umbrella organization of journalists’ associations in Niger, after it condemned violations of press freedom.
Nasr’s employer France 24 has also been suspended in all three countries for its reporting on the uprising.
