Mali ex-intelligence chief sentenced to prison for plotting coup

A court sentenced Mali's former head of domestic intelligence Friday to 15 years in prison for "conspiracy against the government", following a ten-day trial in which he openly accused the ruling junta of corruption.

Colonel Kassoum Goita, the country's ex-head of internal security, was charged on suspicion of attempting a coup and destabilizing state institutions.

He was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and conspiracy against the government.

During the trial, Goita denied the charges and openly accused the ruling authorities of embezzling funds and subjecting him to torture.

Goita is one of the army officers who overthrew elected president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in an August 2020 military putsch, led by Colonel Assimi Goita.

The two men are not related despite sharing the same family name.

Under diplomatic pressure, the army subsequently handed power to a civilian-led interim government tasked with steering Mali back towards civilian rule.

Kassoum Goita became the head domestic intelligence under this government.

However he was dismissed after Assimi Goita overthrew the leaders of the interim government in 2021, in a second putsch, and was declared interim president himself.

The prosecutor had sought a 20-year prison sentence for Goita and five other defendants.

All six of those prosecuted in the trial denied the charges against them and received sentences ranging from seven to 15 years in prison.

"We are not surprised by the verdict. We intend to exhaust all domestic legal avenues before turning to other bodies", a defence lawyer told AFP.