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| - About one hundred people took to the streets in Mali's capital Bamako on Tuesday to protest the recent arrest of a prominent anticorruption activist in the poor West African state. A security official, who requested anonymity, said that authorities arrested Clement Dembele on May 9 after he broadcast a message on social media urging the army and security forces "to revolt against the regime". Dembele is the head of a local anticorruption organisation and a prominent government critic who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2018. Mali's security forces have not publically acknowledged his arrest. Some 100 people rallied against his arrest in Bamako on Tuesday, demanding his release from detention. "We came to support Professor Clement Dembele, we are asking for his immediate release," said Fanta Coulibaly, one of the protesters. Youssouf Sanogo, who works for Dembele's anticorruption organisation, said the arrest was a "national disgrace". He added that the activist "was kidnapped like a common terrorist or criminal by hooded men from the security services". Oumar Mariko, the president of a small opposition party who was present at the demonstration, similarly criticised the arrest. "They should put Clement before the judiciary if they have nothing to hide," he said. Mali is a poor country that has been struggling to quell a jihadist insurgency that first erupted in the north in 2012. It ranked 130th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, in 2019. kt-ah/lal/eml/pvh
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