Ousmane Sonko evacuated to hospital after Police blockades refused ambulance access

 

After having been sprayed with an unidentified noxious substance whilst being extracted from his vehicle by Police, Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader has finally been evacuated to hospital affter sufferring serious medical difficulties. His lawyer Cledor Ly who was also sprayed is also in hospital in a critical condition.

Whilst at the court house when Ousmane Sonko started to become overcome with the effects of the substance, and had been examined by medical first aiders, security forces refused to let him be evacuated to hospital. Instead the again forced him into an armoured car and took him home where he returned to the state of illegal house arrest. For some hours an ambulance was denied the ability to take him to hospital, and no doctors were allowed to get access to him. It was only late in the evening that finally he was evacuated to hospital.

This move by the security forces can be seen as a deliberate attempt to compromise Ousmane Sonko's health, well-being and safety, and is being described as an "assassination attempt".

 

It should be noted that there increasing concern over the indescriminate use of new much more powerful tear gases and sprays. There is no transparancy on what is being used, its country of origin, strengths. In an article in "Science Alert", use of tear gas, which is banned for use in war under the Geneva Convention and classified as a chemical weapon, is mentioned: 

"Under international law, any use of force by law-enforcement authorities must abide by the principles of necessity and proportionality, but tear gas is hardly ever used in accordance with such principles."

The sale and trade of tear gas worldwide is largely unregulated, and as a result, it's often not clear what chemicals exist in each canister, how toxic these chemicals are, or even whether they've been safety tested beforehand. The indiscriminate and improper use of tear gas and sprays by the Senegalese security forces is a potential crime under international law and should be investigated, and those giving the guidelines of use held to account.