Malian soldiers identified, sanctioned in torture video

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - The Malian army announced legal proceedings and disciplinary sanctions Wednesday against soldiers involved in a torture video that was recently broadcast on social networks.

"In one video, a man presented as an imam, is interrogated by a Malian soldier who twists his limbs to force him to acknowledge his membership of a terrorist group,” according to a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Mali Col. Mariame Sagara. “On another, corpses with atrocious marks of abuse are discovered in the bush."

She said the facts have been documented and perpetrators formally identified have been disciplined, in regards to the torture video.

They have also been "placed at the disposal of the national gendarmerie for legal proceedings," she said.

The action comes after the arrests of "22 presumed terrorists" by the army at a fair on Oct. 5. The alleged terrorists were handed over to gendarmerie teams for investigation.

Regarding allegations of summary executions, Sagara said those reports were a contradiction with an objective "to incriminate" the Malian Armed Forces.

No details of the imam's condition were reported but the military promised that "all light will be made on these incidents."