Mali's Transitional President pardons 49 Ivorian soldiers detained since last July
Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali's Transitional President Colonel Assimi Goita has granted a presidential pardon, with full remission of sentence, to 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali since 10 July.
The decree announcing the news was read this Friday evening on Malian national television.
Last Friday, the Malian judiciary sentenced the 46 Ivorian soldiers to 20 years' imprisonment and a 2 million CFFA fine each. The three women of the contingent who were released a few weeks ago "for humanitarian reasons" were sentenced to death for not appearing at the trial.
The 49 soldiers were arrested at Modibo Kéita-Sénou international airport and imprisoned by the Malian judiciary for offences against state security.
The mediator of the Ivorian-Malian crisis, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, paid a visit to Bamako on Tuesday where he held talks with Colonel Goita, focusing, according to official sources, on strengthening relations between Mali and Togo and on the situation in the sub-region.
The Togolese president, at the end of his talks with the president of the Transition of Mali, did not give reasons for his visit to Mali, contenting himself with announcing his presence very soon in Mali.
-0- PANA GT/JSG/BBA/RA 7Jan2023
