Mali charges ex-PM Mousa Mara with undermining state in social media post

A former prime minister of Mali was charged Friday with "undermining the credibility of the state" following a social media post about his visits to political prisoners, a Bamako prosecutor said.

Moussa Mara held the post of prime minister for a brief eight months from 2014 until 2015.

He was previously summoned for questioning following a July 4 post on X in which he spoke of visiting the prisoners and promising to ensure them justice.

Mara was charged Friday by a cybercrime judge with "undermining the credibility of the state and opposing legitimate authority", the prosecutor's office told AFP.

He remains in jail with a trial scheduled for September 29.

His lawyers condemned the proceedings in a statement and said they would have more to say soon.