Mali

A mass grave uncovered in central Mali is the latest grim confirmation that the security situation in the region has reached crisis point, Amnesty International said today. Local witnesses in the village of Dogo identified on 22 March six bodies as people who had been arrested by the military three days earlier.

Amnesty International also documented an increase in attacks on civilians by armed groups including Ansar Dine and GSIM (Groupe de soutien à l’Islam et aux musulmans), and confirmed that 65 people, including children, have been killed by improvised explosives since the beginning of the year.

The opening of the trial of former Malian junta leader Amadou Haya Sanogo is an important first step to put an end to an agonizing three-year-long wait for justice for those who suffered torture, as well as the murder and enforced disappearances of loved ones, at the hands of his soldiers, Amnesty International said today.

Sanogo and several soldiers under his command will be tried on 30 November by the Assize Court in Mali’s capital, Bamako, on charges linked to the abduction and murder of soldiers accused of supporting the ousted President, Amadou Toumani Touré. The charges also include the enforced disappearances of 21 soldiers between 30 April and 1 May 2012, whose bodies were later found in a mass grave.

“Sanogo’s brief rule was characterized by torture, disappearances and extra-judicial executions. For the victims and their families this trial brings a fresh hope of justice,” said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International’s West Africa Researcher.   

In response to the opening today of the trial of Ahmad Al-Fadi Al-Mahdi, an alleged senior member of the Ansar Eddine armed group, for attacks on mosques and mausoleums in Timbuktu in 2012, Amnesty International’s Africa Senior Legal Advisor Erica Bussey said:

“Attacks against religious and historical monuments violate cultural rights and can cause significant harm to the local and sometimes broader communities. They are war crimes and those suspected of carrying out such attacks should be prosecuted.”

“However, while this case breaks new ground for the ICC, we must not lose sight of the need to ensure accountability for other crimes under international law, including murder, rape and torture of civilians that have been committed in Mali since 2012.”

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca

Background

Authorities in Mali must urgently identify the 21 bodies found in a mass grave last night, believed to belong to soldiers abducted in May 2012, Amnesty International said.

“Ever since the soldiers were abducted from the Kati Military Camp, their loved ones have been desperate to know what has happened to them. Authorities in Mali must now do everything in their power to give the families the full truth,” said Gaĕtan Mootoo, Mali researcher at Amnesty International, who met with some of the relatives of the soldiers last week.

“Unfortunately, the initial reports seem to confirm our fears that the 21 soldiers could have been executed,” added Gaĕtan Mootoo. “Amnesty International extends its deepest sympathies to all the families concerned.”

The mass grave was discovered following the arrest of General Amadou Haya Sanogo who led a military coup in Mali in March 2012. Several of his soldiers were also detained.

They were charged with kidnapping, murder and assassination in connection with the disappearance of 21 ‘red beret’ soldiers suspected of supporting a counter-coup against General Sanogo.

Elements of Mali’s military appear to be carrying out a purge and extrajudicial killings of soldiers who took part in a mutiny last month in a barracks outside the capital Bamako, Amnesty International said today based on its research.

The bodies of four soldiers were discovered earlier this month near the capital and several others, including a Colonel, remain unaccounted for. These apparent extrajudicial executions and disappearances raise fears that soldiers loyal to General Amadou Haya Sanogo, who staged a coup in March 2012, are purging their ranks to quell dissent.

“This is the latest shocking example of how a small group of soldiers who appear to consider themselves above the law continue to cling onto power in Mali,” said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International's researcher on West Africa.

Posted at 0001hrs GMT  7 June 2013  

Civilians are among dozens of people who have been tortured, killed and disappeared, including while in detention, since the launch of the French army’s intervention in the country five months ago, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today.

The briefing Mali: Preliminary findings of a four-week mission. Serious human rights abuses, issued in the run-up to the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Mali next month, is the result of a research mission carried out in May and June in the country.

“The Malian security forces’ human rights record since January is, simply, appalling. They continue to violate human rights with apparently no fear of being held accountable,” said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International researcher and member of this research mission.

During the visit, Amnesty International documented dozens of cases of detainees being tortured or ill-treated after being arrested for having alleged links with armed groups. The organization also documented more than 20 cases of extrajudicial-executions or enforced disappearances.

Today’s announcement that the International Criminal Court (ICC) will open an investigation into crimes under international law committed over the past year of conflict in Mali is a crucial step towards justice for the victims, Amnesty International said.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s announcement comes after a request from the Malian government last July to investigate cases of crimes under international law committed since January 2012, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, torture, enforced disappearances and the use of child soldiers.

"This is an important opportunity to ensure justice for victims of crimes under international law committed over the past year in Mali and sends an important message to those planning and committing such crimes that they cannot act with impunity and may be brought to justice," said Paule Rigaud, Deputy Africa Program Director at Amnesty International.