Yeri Bocoum

As of June 2024, Bocoum is the vice-president of the Association of Social Media Professionals and Web Actors (APMSWA), which is based in Bamako, Mali's capital.^[1] He also runs the Facebook news page YBC-Communication.^[2]

Bocoum was last seen in public on 7 June 2024. At the time, he had been covering an unauthorized, but well-attended, demonstration by Synergie pour le Mali (Synergy of Action for Mali), which comprised a coalition of opposition political groups^[3] who were protesting against electricity shortages, the high cost of living in the country, and mismanagement of resources by authorities.^[1][2][4] Bocoum was the only journalist to cover the event.^[3][5] Later that day, Bocoum posted online that he had been followed by two people on motorcycles.^[3]

Relatives reported that on 8 June, Bocoum was taken from outside his home in Kati by "unknown assailants".^[1][2] On 13 June, Radio France Internationale reported that Bocoum was being held by "Malian state security services".^[2][5] As of 27 June, Bocoum's family had not received any updates from authorities.^[2] Later that month, the Committee to Protect Journalists, an American nonprofit organization, urged Malian authorities to investigate Bocoum's disappearance.^[2] The International Federation for Human Rights released a similar report and request.^[6]

Yeri Bocoum was freed on June 27.^[7] However, Bocoum continued to report threats and surveillance of his movements.^[8]