Contribution: Temporary freedom, the illogicality of oppressive laws

These innate flaws are present in all legal systems inspired by the French model, and they persist, preventing us from surpassing our predecessors. Temporary release is one of the incongruous parts of the law that does little to respect the rights of others and therefore promote the rule of law.

If freedom is temporary, even under judicial control, it is because of the presumption of guilt. Isn’t it clumsily described as temporary that the upcoming trial is actually seen as being able to put an end to his regained freedom? But this goes against a fundamental principle and value of judicial law and human rights: the presumption of innocence.

If the presumption of innocence is a principle and a natural right, as long as a fair and impartial trial has not yet established guilt, then a warrant for evidence is justified only if there is a real risk that the accused will evade trial. If such an imposed warrant is lifted before trial, and after a guarantee of appearance is found, we should never talk about provisional release, but rather about the lifting of provisional detention or the regaining of freedom in view of the trial.

Highly provisional detention, because that is the whole truth and logic of it, psychologically and publicly restores the defendant’s right to the presumption of innocence. The freedom regained for the purpose of trial puts him back to the first state as a defendant in court. His honor is safe before his trial. The public gives him the presumption of innocence.

The judges will decide whether he should lose or keep his freedom. For a people who have suffered colonization and tyranny, freedom is so precious that Mali’s independent decision made it a symbol of its existence: Our flag will be freedom, it sings in the national anthem.

Hearing such high-pitched voices, what respectable Malian citizen, or even a judge, dares to leap for joy as the Malians do freely? Our flag will be free. 64 years later, facing arbitrary attacks from within and outside the country, it is time for Mali to fight for the freedom of its citizens.

Dr. Mahamadou Konate