JournalismPakistan.com | Published August 06, 2012
Join our WhatsApp channel
A radio presenter was badly beaten by Islamists occupying the northern Mali town of Gao after he reported on a protest in which they were stopped from cutting off a thief's hand, hospital sources said on Monday.
As the Islamists attempt to deepen their hold on the north of the country, government vowed Monday it was working flat out to win back its territory lost to the extremists, and its commitment to a secular state.
"The presenter Abdoul Malick Maiga, beaten by the Islamists on Sunday night, is still in hospital. He regained consciousness but is still in intense pain," a doctor at the hospital told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"I saw him this morning (Monday). He has scratches on his eye. He explained that the Islamists came to arrest him as he was commenting on the population's refusal to accept the amputation of a thief's hand," he added.
Another doctor said the presenter had been beaten "with a stick by the Islamists who accused him of criticizing them."
Hundreds of people protested on Sunday night in Gao against Maiga's detention and demanded his release, setting fire to a car belonging to a leader of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) which controls the town.
The Islamists fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd.
On Saturday MUJAO announced on private radio they would amputate the thief's hand at a town square, but were met by hundreds of protesters on Sunday who stormed the square, preventing the sentence from being carried out.
According to local sources, the accused was a young MUJAO recruit who had stolen weapons to re-sell them.
"We don't want to know what this young man did, but they are not going to cut his hand off in front of us," a resident said on Sunday.
This is the first report of the extremists attempting to carry out an amputation since they occupied the north of the country four months ago, enforcing strict sharia law. -AFP
May 19, 2025: PJS reports 219 Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, with 30 women among the victims. Over 430 were injured and 685 family members were killed. Read more on the systematic targeting of media in Gaza.
May 04, 2025: Algerian authorities suspend Echorouk News TV for 10 days after it used a racist slur against African migrants. ANIRA demands an apology, calling it a violation of human dignity.
April 21, 2025: An Italian newspaper, Il Foglio, successfully published a month-long AI-written insert and praised its irony and analytical abilities, while affirming that AI will complement—not replace—quality journalism.
March 29, 2025: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), ruling that the move likely violated legal procedures. The decision protects over 1,200 journalists and media staff.
March 28, 2025: Turkey deports BBC journalist Mark Lowen over 'public order' threat and fines opposition TV channels covering Istanbul Mayor's arrest. Critics condemn crackdown on press freedom amid rising political tensions.
March 25, 2025: Turkish authorities must release detained journalists covering protests and end press crackdowns. CPJ condemns police violence and home raids targeting media workers.
March 16, 2025: The Trump administration has ordered furloughs at U.S.-funded broadcasters, including Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia, raising concerns about press freedom and government control over media funding.
March 08, 2025: Senior UK TV producers are taking shelf-stacking and pub jobs as the industry faces a prolonged crisis. Thousands are unemployed, with freelancers struggling to find work. Learn more about the factors behind this collapse.
July 08, 2025 As Pakistani authorities move to block YouTube channels of journalists, censorship tightens. Yet, social media has emerged as a defiant force, keeping the spirit of free speech alive despite increasing state control.
July 08, 2025 The Supreme Court of Pakistan has acquitted a murder accused, ruling that confessions made to the media while in police custody are inadmissible. Justice Athar Minallah emphasized due process and transparency in legal proceedings.
July 08, 2025 The Pakistan government has approached a court seeking the removal of several YouTube channels operated by prominent journalists, accusing them of spreading false information and provoking unrest against state institutions.
June 11, 2025 Pakistan celebrated a narrow win over Bangladesh, but beneath the jubilation lies a deeper crisis—from sidelined veterans to a collapsing domestic structure—signaling an urgent need for cricket reform.
June 11, 2025 Journalists walked out of the post-budget press conference in Islamabad to protest the absence of a technical briefing and the government's dismissive behavior, calling it unacceptable and intolerable.