Since the 2020‑2023 coups  in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, military leaders have imposed sweeping criminal defamation and antiterrorism laws that enable the arbitrary detention of journalists , bloggers and activists. They have also ordered the shutdown of independent radio stations and online platforms. "It has become more repressive. It's no longer as easy to speak out," said Ulf Laessing, former director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's Sahel program in Mali . People have become more