Military juntas in 3 West African nations investigate a French journalist over jihadi analysis

NIAMEY, Niger — Prosecutors in military junta-ruled Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso launched investigations on Wednesday against the French journalist and researcher Wassim Nasr into what they called his “apology of terrorism” and “complicity” in alleged terrorist acts, in the latest action against the Western media. In a message to The Associated Press, he condemned the move as intimidation and an attack on journalism.

Nasr, who works for the French broadcaster France 24, gave a detailed analysis of a rare deadly jihadi attack in Mali’s capital Bamako on Sep. 17. The prosecutors accused him of having been in contact with the attackers and that they communicated their location, objectives and death toll in real time with him.

Nasr also made comments that “amount to blatant acts of publicity and support of the terrorists,” Manzo Hadiza, the deputy prosecutor of Niger alleged during a press conference Wednesday.

Prosecutors from the judicial divisions on terrorism in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso all issued the same statement apparently in coordination, aired on their national televisions late on Wednesday.

“They are trying to intimidate anyone still contradicting their storytelling about security and control,” Nasr, who is based in France, told the AP in a WhatsApp message. He said the investigation by the three West African countries is a clear attack on journalism.

“We should all have a thought about all journalists and civil society activists who are surviving under the rule of those juntas, they are the ones who need support,” he added.

Local journalists in the Sahel region, where Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are located, are facing increased security risks, the media freedom group Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday.

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance instead

But the security situation in the Sahel has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and a record number of civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces. Over 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, a 25% increase compared to the previous six months.

Meanwhile, the ruling juntas have cracked down on political dissent and journalists. Earlier this year, Malian authorities banned the media from reporting on the activities of political parties and associations. Burkina Faso suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces. Earlier this year, Niger’s authorities ordered the closure of the “Maison de la Presse”, an umbrella organization of Niger’s journalists’ associations, after it denounced press freedom violations.

Nasr’s employer France 24 is also suspended in all three countries over its coverage of the insurgency.