Three journalists sit in a Malian detention facility right now, their crime: reporting what they saw. Human Rights Watch is calling on Malian authorities to drop the charges against them and secure their immediate release.
The cases point to a tightening grip on press freedom in Mali, where journalists who report critically on those in power increasingly find themselves on the wrong side of the law. HRW's call to action is direct: the charges need to go, and these reporters need to be free.
What happens next in Mali will say a great deal about the space that remains for honest journalism across the Sahel. The world is watching.
Originally published by AllAfrica · hrwla@hrw.org (HRW).