Mali sentences French agent to 20 years for state security breach

A Malian court has handed down a 20-year prison sentence to a French national, identified as an intelligence officer with diplomatic status. The man, held in Bamako since August 2025, was found guilty of undermining state security, judicial sources confirmed.

The verdict was delivered on Thursday by the criminal chamber of the specialized anti-terrorism court. Alongside the prison term, the defendant, named as Yann V., received a 20-year ban from entering Mali and was ordered to pay a fine of 5,400 euros.

According to Malian authorities, the suspect was arrested on August 13, 2025, during an operation by the State Security intelligence service. Formally assigned to the French embassy in Bamako, he was detained alongside several Malian army officers.

The implicated soldiers, who were discharged from the military following their arrest, are accused of involvement in an espionage and conspiracy network aimed at destabilizing Mali’s transitional institutions and preparing a coup plot. Their trial has not yet taken place.

France has strongly rejected the allegations. Reacting to the sentencing, the French foreign ministry denounced the charges as baseless and stated that the agent was carrying out a security cooperation mission. Paris insists it has never engaged in any effort to destabilize Mali, directly or indirectly.

The case has already fueled sharp diplomatic friction between the two nations. Following the agent’s arrest, France suspended its counterterrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two Malian diplomats to leave French territory.

Since military leaders seized power in the coups of 2020 and 2021, relations between Bamako and Paris have deteriorated significantly. Mali’s authorities have steadily scaled back cooperation with Western partners, particularly France, while deepening political and security ties with Russia.