Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger juntas investigate French journalist for jihadist analysis

Prosecutors in junta-led Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have launched investigations against French journalist and researcher Wassim Nasr, accusing him of being an “apologist for terrorism” over his analysis of jihadist attacks.

Nasr, who works for the broadcaster France 24, is also a security expert who regularly comments on an Islamist insurgency that took root in Mali in 2012 and has since spread across West Africa’s Sahel region.

He carried out a detailed analysis of a rare jihadist attack on several strategic sites in Mali’s capital Bamako on Sept. 17, and was cited in several media outlets in the aftermath.

The prosecutors from the judicial divisions that specialise in terrorism in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger all issued the same statement, aired on their national televisions late on Wednesday.

Read more: Reuters