Mali, Iran, Hong Kong

Today's three stories you should know.

Mali

A group of military personnel and private citizens, including two generals and a Frenchman, have been arrested in Mali accused of plotting a coup, the country’s military leaders said. Gen. Daoud Aly Mohammedine, Mali’s security minister, appeared on the evening news to make the announcement. Mohammedine accused the French citizen, named as Yann Vezilier, of working on behalf of French intelligence. There was no immediate comment from the French government. Mali, which is struggling with an insurgency from several armed groups and saw back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, expelled French troops in 2022 and turned to Russia for support in its battle with the armed groups.

More from France 24 here.

Iran

Israel’s strike on a prison in the Iranian capital Tehran during its 12-day conflict with Iran in June was “an apparent war crime,” the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) group has said in a new report. Israel’s strikes hit the facility during visiting hours, and Iranian authorities said 71 people were killed, including inmates, people visiting relatives, and prison staff. Evin prison has gained a notorious reputation as a complex in which political dissidents are held. It is unclear why Israel targeted the facility. Under international humanitarian law, prisons are considered presumptively civilian objects, HRW said.

More from Human Rights Watch here.

Hong Kong

The trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been delayed again in Hong Kong due to concerns about the 77-year-old’s health. Lai, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested in 2020 under a controversial national security law that was introduced during pro-democracy protests in 2019. He is accused of foreign collusion, a charge Western governments and rights groups say is bogus. U.S. President Donald Trump this week told a radio program he intended to “save” Lai and that he had raised the case with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lai is a British citizen and his son, Sebastien, has repeatedly called on the government of Keir Starmer to do more. “I don’t want my father to die in jail,” he said.

More from Hong Kong Free Press here.