Mali’s ruling junta has moved opposition politicians, arrested in a crackdown earlier this month, to prison. The politicians, who number eleven, were arrested during a private meeting and have since been held on charges of attacks and conspiracy against the government, among others. According to a family member of one of the detainees, the junta split the prisoners into two groups, with one group sent to Koulikoro prison and the other to a new prison situated 70 kilometers from Bamako, the nation’s capital. The move has been condemned by rights groups as a further erosion of political freedoms under the ruling junta, which suspended all political activities in April under the guise of maintaining public order. The decision has since been appealed at the nation’s highest court, but there is no telling when the case will be heard.
SOURCE: AP NEWS