Madar (Bamako) - Amnesty International on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, urged Mali's transitional authorities to "urgently" reveal the fate and whereabouts of lawyer, politician and former minister Mountaga Tall and his son Cheick Mamadou Tall, six months after the elder Tall was taken from his home, RFI reported.
According to the broadcaster, hooded State Security agents took Mountaga Tall from his home on the night of May 2-3, and days later his son was also taken. Both have since been held at an unknown location outside any legal procedure, despite efforts by the family's lawyers.
Amnesty said that if they are suspected of an offence they must be brought before a judge, told the charges against them and given fair-trial guarantees, "otherwise, they must be released immediately." It called for proof of life and immediate access to their families, lawyers and doctors.
The family's lawyers have taken the case to Malian courts and to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, and Mali's bar president, the International Conference of Bars and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights have also appealed to the authorities, but no official information has been released in six months, RFI said.
In recent years, Tall had taken on sensitive cases, challenging in court the dissolution of political organisations and defending former prime minister Moussa Mara, who spent a year in prison over a critical tweet.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement on October 30 that "every day without news raises fears for their safety," describing the disappearances as part of a "wider crackdown" on the political opposition, the media and dissidents.
Separately, four pro-democracy activists held since May, Youssouf Daba Diawara, Aboubacar Soumare, Moussa "Abba" Djire and Ibrahima Tamega, reappeared about ten days ago. Brought before a judge on October 20, they face charges including "undermining the credit of the state," "criminal association" and "attempted destabilisation"; relatives describe them as "very thin" and "traumatised," and they have not been allowed to see a doctor.
