A French intelligence officer, holding diplomatic status and detained in Bamako for nearly ten months, has been handed a 20-year prison sentence by Malian courts. The verdict, delivered on Friday, found the agent guilty of “undermining state security,” a charge vehemently rejected by Paris as “baseless accusations.”

The French national, apprehended in August 2025, faced allegations of conspiring against the institutions of the Sahelian nation, which is currently governed by a military junta with strained relations with France. In addition to the lengthy prison term, the individual received a 20-year ban from residing in Mali and was ordered to pay a fine of 5,400 euros. This information was confirmed by multiple judicial sources.

The trial unfolded on Thursday before the criminal chamber of the specialized anti-terrorism court, with the judgment publicly announced the following day. Sources, who chose to remain anonymous for security reasons, revealed that the proceedings were held behind closed doors.

The agent, identified as Yann V., was taken into custody on August 13, 2025, during an operation conducted by Mali’s State Security (SE) intelligence services.

Although officially assigned to the French embassy in Bamako, the officer’s arrest occurred alongside several members of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa).

These Malian officers, subsequently dismissed from service, have yet to face trial. They stand accused of establishing an espionage network and plotting to destabilize Mali’s transitional institutions with the aim of orchestrating a coup d’état.

At the time of the arrest, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the charges as “unfounded” and demanded the immediate release of its citizen.

In a swift response to the agent’s detention, France suspended its counter-terrorism cooperation with Mali in the days that followed and ordered two Malian diplomats to depart French territory.

Following the announcement of the judgment on Friday, the French Foreign Ministry reiterated its stance, again dismissing the “baseless accusations.”

The French Ministry affirmed that France’s position on this matter has remained “constant” and “unchanged” since the agent’s initial arrest.

It further stated that the arrest, detention, and trial of its duly accredited diplomatic agent on August 13, 2025, constitute a “flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention,” an international agreement to which the Republic of Mali is a signatory.

– Paris seeks a “rapid resolution” –

According to the French Ministry, its agent is subjected to a judicial process involving “unfounded accusations.” It assured that “all available means are being deployed to find a rapid resolution to this case.”

The Ministry reaffirmed that the French agent was engaged in a mission of “security cooperation” and emphatically stated that France “in no way participated, directly or indirectly, in the destabilization of Mali.”

Mali has been grappling with a profound security crisis since 2012, fueled by violence from jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (EI), as well as communal criminal organizations. The country is currently led by a military junta that seized power through coups in 2020 and 2021.

Since the coups, authorities in Bamako have distanced themselves from their traditional Western partners, particularly former colonial power France, shifting their political and military allegiances towards Russia.

The West African Sahelian nation continues to face a critical security landscape, underscored by large-scale attacks on April 25 and 26. These coordinated assaults, unprecedented in their scope, were carried out by jihadists from JNIM (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims), allied with the Tuareg-dominated Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLA) rebellion, targeting strategic junta positions in several regions. Notably, these attacks resulted in the death of Malian Defense Minister Sadio Camara, 47, a key figure in the junta, who was killed in a suicide bombing.