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afrol News, 14 June - A few days after the sentencing of Sidiki Konaté, director-general of the Malian Radio-television Bureau (Office de radio-télévision du Mali, ORTM), to one month in prison, the National Union of the Magistracy (Syndicat national de la magistrature) has withdrawn its complaint against him. - The case is therefore closed, the French media watchdog Reporters sans frontières (RSF) today reports. In a telephone conversation with RSF, Konaté further explained that he was never arrested in conjunction with the case. One month ago, RSF in a letter to Malian president, Alpha Oumar Konaré, had protested the sentencing of Sidiki Konaté. The organisation was just made aware of Konaté having been sentenced to one month in prison for defamation. Malian press associations and organisations also were protesting the verdict's "prejudicial nature." According to information collected by RSF, the sentence was delivered on 16 May 2001, following a lawsuit filed by the Autonomous Union of the Magistracy (Syndicat autonome de la magistrature) against the mayor of Bamako, Ibrahima N'Diaye, and the ORTM. In the course of a televised programme that was broadcast on 26 March, N'Diaye reportedly stated that Malian magistrates were corrupt. According to the Malian press law, the ORTM is punishable for having broadcast the mayor's remarks. The mayor is considered an accomplice. The ORTM and Bamako's mayor were fined 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 CFA francs (US$ 1,345 and 4,037), respectively. As the case against television director Konaté has been withdrawn, there still is no news on the case against major N'Diaye. Protests against the defamation case against Konaté also leaned on a document published in January 2000 by Abid Hussain, the United Nations special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression. Hussain there had stated that for violations such as "defamatory writings", "insults" or "dishonouring the head of state", prison terms are both reprehensible and disproportionate to the harm suffered by the victim. The Malian government, usually respecting its citizen's human rights, seemed to have given into the pressure arising from all sides. Ironically, the positive government interference underlines the main critic against the human rights situation in Mali: The government continues to exert a heavy influence on the judiciary, which theoretically is to be independent.
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