On Friday, January 6, 2023, the head of the junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, pardoned the soldiers from Côte d’Ivoire after the sentencing of 46 of them to 20 years in prison on December 30, for undermining the security of the country. Malian state and conspiracy against the government.
“Colonel Assimi Goita, President of the Transition, Head of State granted his pardon with full remission of sentences to the 49 Ivorians convicted by the Malian courts. This gesture, once again demonstrates moreover, its attachment to peace, dialogue, Pan-Africanism and the preservation of fraternal and secular relations with the countries of the region. said Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, the government spokesman.
The conviction of the Ivorian soldiers by the Malian justice triggered a diplomatic conflict.
The 49 soldiers were arrested in July when they went to work for Sahelian Aviation Services, a private company contracted by the United Nations to work in Mali.