Mali's transitional president Assimi Goita has granted a presidential pardon to French national Yann Vezilier, two months after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison over an alleged plot to destabilise the military-led government.

Government spokesperson Brigadier General Issa Coulibaly stressed that the pardon, issued by decree on August 13, does not overturn Vezilier's conviction and requires his immediate expulsion from Mali.

"His Excellency Army General Assimi Goita, President of the Transition and Head of State, has granted a presidential pardon to Mr. Yann Christian Bernard Vezilier, a French national who was sentenced by the Malian courts to 20 years' imprisonment for undermining the external security of the state. This pardon does not call into question the facts established by a judgment handed down following an adversarial trial, during which all the rights of the defence were respected. The measure is accompanied by the immediate removal of the individual concerned from the national territory. The transitional government also stresses that Mr. Vezilier was tried and convicted following a fair trial, without any interference, in accordance with the vision of His Excellency Army General Assimi Goita, President of the Transition and Head of State, to promote good governance as part of the rebuilding of the state, uphold the rule of law and the separation of powers, and safeguard the independence of the judiciary."