French national gets 20 years in Mali over alleged destabilisation plot

BAMAKO, June 6 (Reuters) - A ‌French national accused ​by ​Mali's military-led government of involvement in a plot to destabilise the country last year has been sentenced to 20 years in ‌prison, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in ⁠a case that has strained ties between Bamako and Paris.

• Yann Vezilier is expected ‌to serve his sentence in ‌Mali following a conviction handed down late on Thursday, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief ​the media.

• Mali's government announced the arrest of Vezilier last August, along with two Malian generals, accusing him of acting on behalf of ⁠French intelligence services to mobilise political actors, civil society figures and military officers against Assimi Goita's government.

• ​France’s foreign ministry denied the accusations then, saying they were "unfounded" and that Vezilier's arrest was in violation of the Vienna ​Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

• France reiterated the ‌denial following his sentencing. "Our agent was carrying out a security cooperation mission and in no form was participating directly or ⁠indirectly in destabilising Mali," the foreign ministry said.

• French diplomatic sources said Paris was increasingly concerned about Vezilier's health, which they said had been worsening.

• Mali has ⁠experienced more than a decade of unrest fuelled by Islamist insurgencies in its desert north ​and political instability that led to coups in 2020 and 2021, bringing Goita to power.

• Spokespeople for Mali's government and justice ministry did not respond to Reuters requests ‌for comment on Friday.

• Relations between Mali and France, its former colonial ruler, have deteriorated sharply in recent years, ‌part of a broader regional shift that has also seen Burkina Faso and ⁠Niger distance themselves from Paris.

(Reporting by Mali ‌newsroom and Portia Crowe ​in Dakar; Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Writing by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Sanjeev Miglani, ‌William Maclean)

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