URGENT: Police attack Senegalese National Assembly members and the press corps trying to visit Ousmane Sonko

After Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader was been held in illegal house arrest from this morning, the national assembly member Guy Marius Sagna and several other of his fellow assembly members from the opposition Yewwi Askan Wi parliamentary group came to Cité Keur Gorgui intending to to go to the home of opponent Ousmane Sonko. 

They were prevented from reaching Sonko's house by security forces who immediately opened fire on them with teargas shells. One of the of the teargas shells were fired directly at them, and Guy Marius Sagna, wearing his formal National Assembly member sash, received a direct hit in his leg, causing injury.

When the parliamentaries approached the Police lines, lead by the injured GMS, the Police then turned their attention on the press, journalists and camera crews who were deliberately targeted by volleys of tear gas shells to drive them away from the scene.  There was no provocation and no demonstrators in the vicinity when they were attacked. The press corps were forced out of the area, preventing them from carrying out their professional duties.

It should be recalled that less than 24 hours ago the US Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, on visit to Senegal, had  tweeted  thanking the Senegalese Interior Minister Antoine Diome on their "partnership to promote & institutionalize citizen security, rule of law & respect for human rights principles in law enforcement". 

It would appear that either elements of the Police, and those that command them,  were just waiting for the airplane door to close on her to breech all of those principles , or they had received  the green light that the US would look the other way. Which is it?

URGENT: Senegal's opposition leader Ousmane Sonko placed under illegal house arrest

 

Today Senegal's main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been placed under illegal house arrest by heavily armed members of the security forces. 

Armoured cars, barricades and heavily armed forces have blocked all access roads to his house at Cite Gorgui in Dakar preventing him from driving his son to school.

This measure has been taken  illegally without explanation and without any court order. It follows yesterdays massively successive "giga rally" which brought hundreds of thousands of protesters out to make their voices heard against an unconstitutional third candidature for the sitting president Macky Sall in the 2024 presidential elections. 

Visitors have been prevented from accessing Ousmane Sonko's residence and he is not being allowed to leave even to take his son to school in clear breech of the basic legal right to freedom of movement. No statement or explanation has been issued by the security forces.

This move also follows unprovoked and repeated attacks by security forces with tear gas  on Sonko's convoy as he returned home after the peaceful "giga rally" yesterday evening.

Sendirect TV reported that the member of parliament Guy Marius Sagna has been denied access to visit Ousmane Sonko. He was quoted as saying;

“I inform you that officially President Ousmane Sonko has been illegally placed under house arrest arbitrarily without the order of a judge. I tried a few minutes ago to gain access to Ousmane Sonko's house by all possible access roads. At each police checkpoint I was told 'you cannot access Ousmane Sonko's house' 

Guy went on to say "I strongly denounce the illegal placing of the candidate2024 presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko under illegal and warrantless house arrest  by President Macky Sall who is seeking to run for an illegal and illegitimate 3rd term and to also determine which candidates can run against him. This will not pass! “

APR militant issues violent threats with impunity against opposition leader Ousmane Sonko

 

Amadou NIANG a militant of the APR party of Macky Sall made direct threats of violence against President Ousmane Sonko, opposition leader of the PASTEF party, 11 months before the presidential election.

His threat to "burn Ousmane Sonko's house down" was made at a public meeting whilst standing next to the Minister of Youth Pape Malick Ndour.  (link)

This is not the first violent threat made by members of the ruling party against the opposition. 

Ameth Suzane Camara an APR cadre went on social media to say that "Ousmane Sonko should be killed" (link)

In December a ruling BBY coalition member of parliment threaten the opposition by saying in relation to the coming presidential election "In 2024 we will march on your corpses" (link)

No legal measures, summonses or arrests have been taken in relation to these and other threats, however over a hundred opposition supporters are detained in prison for "opinion crime" - saying something which displeases the regime and includes a leading court journalist and someone who spent months in prison for sharing a satirical post on facebook with an laughing emoji.

President Sall Is Risking Senegal Stability as Gas Boom Nears, Rival Says

 Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko addresses a "Giga rally" on  14/03/202 against the 3rd candidature of Mack Sall

From Bloomberg

ByKatarina Hoije and Momar Niang

14 March 2023

As Senegal readies for an oil and gas boom, President Macky Sall is putting the country’s stability at risk by refusing to rule out running for a third term, according to his main political challenger. 

Political tensions have risen since the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar alliance had its parliamentary majority reduced to one seat in a legislative vote in July. Ousmane Sonko, leader of the opposition African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity, or Pastef-Patriotes in French, has been charged with rape in what he says is a case designed to prevent him from running in elections next year. He’s also being sued for defamation in a lawsuit that could see him barred. 

While Senegal has never suffered a military coup since independence from France in 1960, unlike many in the region, there’s been political unrest in the past. Sall’s rise to power in 2012 came on the back of nationwide protests against then-president Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to run for a third term, which is barred by the constitution. 

It’s up to the president to “deescalate the situation,” Sonko, 48, said in a March 10 interview in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, referencing deadly riots in March 2021 that followed his arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting and threatening a beauty salon employee. “Let’s hope the actors can come to their senses before we cross the red line.”

Sall, 61, won a run-off vote after the Constitutional Court of Senegal ruled that Wade was allowed to stand because his first term didn’t count under the new constitution

Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko attacked by security forces as US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights leaves town

Following the finish of  the Yewwi Askan Wi "Giga meeting" in Dakar today, where hundreds of thousand of people had met peacefully to express their discontent with the Macky Sall government , the cortege of the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, returning home, was again subject to unprovoked attacked by elements of the security forces  with tear gas shells. It should be recalled that a month ago Ousmane Sonko's convoy was similarly blocked and attacked by security forces when returning home from a court appearance. On that occasion his vehicle window was smashed and he was forcibly removed by Gendarmes in order to be take home "for his own safety", images of which shocked viewers around the world. 

Earlier on in the day US  Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya on a visit to Senegal tweeted that she had been "Thrilled" to meet President Macky Sall to "discuss shared priorities on democracy, human rights, security, & Senegal’s vibrant democratic tradition".

It remains to be seen what her view will be on such a deliberate breech of Senegal's "democracy, human rights, security, & Senegal’s vibrant democratic tradition" when there are such irresponsible and blatant unprovoked violent attacks by "security" forces. Video footage shows heavily armoured police, mounting roadblocks and firing teargas at and into vehicles peacefully making their way home, including at a passing ambulance and into neighbouring houses.

These attacks follows a meeting yesterday when members of president |Macky Sall's party made threats to burn down opposition leader Sonko's house whilst standing next to the Minister for Youth  without any sanction.

Live footage of the attack can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvk7xfOKSzM

Sonko's lawyers threaten to bring Ismaïla Madior Fall to justice

FROM: PressAfrik 

by Salif SAKHANOKHO  13 Mars 2023 - 20:01

The legal team of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have released a statement  saying that they have noted, with great "indignation" and "dismay", that during a program broadcast on March 12, 2023 on Sud FM, the Minister of Justice, Ismaila Madior Fall, asserted that presidential candidate Sonko had "no right to defame with impunity".

In a press release, Lawyer Bamba Cissé said,  on behalf of  the legal team, that they believe that “this clear and unequivocal  position taken by the justice minister, prior to judgement in the case, can clearly influence public opinion on this affair. Thus the statement  undermines the integrity of the judicial procedure, neutrality, and the principles of the presumption of innocence inherent in an even-handed and equitable distribution of Justice.

The defence team stresses the urgent need to ensure a "fair" and impartial trial for the defendant who is  main opponent of the current sitting President with less than a year to go before the February 2024 presidential elections.

The  defense lawyers "vigorously" denounced this umpteenth departure from legal impartiality which, they noted, will not in itself have legal consequences.

French Relations Did Senegal's Macky Sall Fund France's Marine Le Pen?

FROM: The Republic

Hillary Essiennmarch 12 March 2023 

Ahead of her trip, Le Pen wrote in the French newspaper L’Opinion, saying her visit ‘can become the two driving forces behind a rediscovered relationship of trust between Europe and Africa.’

On Friday, Senegal’s former prime minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare was taken into custody and charged with libel after he asked if President Macky Sall had provided funds to French far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen. Soumare’s lawyer, Mame Adama Gueye, told AFP that Soumare had been charged with libel and spreading ‘false information’ before being released on bail.

In an open letter, Soumare—who served as budget minister and then prime minister from 2007 to 2009 under former president Abdoulaye Wade—asked Sall whether he had donated 12 million euros ($12.7 million) to Le Pen, who was unnamed in the letter, but was described as a ‘French political figure’ whose party is distinguished ‘by hatred and rejection of others’.

Soumare asked: "If by any chance all of this were true, please enlighten the Senegalese people as to whether you acted as president of the Republic of Senegal or as a leader of a political party and with what money."

Soumare’s letter followed a meeting between Sall and Le Pen in January. It was her first trip abroad since she lost the presidential elections in April 2022 and has been perceived as laying the groundwork for her presidential aspirations in 2027. In the first round of the 2022 polls, Le Pen won 6.09 per cent of the votes of French nationals in Senegal, against 38.40 per cent for Jean-Luc Mélenchon and 33.68 per cent in favour of Emmanuel Macron.

Senegal maintains good relations with France; in December, both countries signed agreements focused on youth development to bolster further cooperation between them. Ahead of her trip, Le Pen wrote in the French newspaper L’Opinion, saying her visit ‘can become the two driving forces behind a rediscovered relationship of trust between Europe and Africa.’

The meeting held in Sall’s presidential palace in Dakar and was the last stop in her three-day visit. Le Pen met with members of the Eléments Français au Sénégal (EFS), the French armed forces in the country, and visited farms and two hospitals. She also visited the island of Gorée, where there is a museum and memorial to the victims of the Atlantic slave trade.

Le Point quotes Le Pen as saying: "It is very important not to lose contact with Africa. I wanted to start by going to Senegal, which is a pivotal country on the continent, says Marine Le Pen. The vision that I carry is not only a Franco-French vision. It is also a vision of France in the world. It is important to be able to confront it abroad."

In a statement by government spokesman Abdou Karim Fofana, Sall’s government condemned the letter. While the allegations remained unaddressed, Soumare’s claims were dismissed as:

"…cowardly and baseless insinuations, which clearly demonstrate an evil desire to discredit the person of the president of the republic, to undermine the institution that he embodies and to harm relations between Senegal and a foreign power."

Le Pen’s visit and Soumare’s arrest were met with criticism by Dakar’s political elite; former prime minister Aminata Touré, who is running for president at the 2024 presidential elections, condemned the meeting, describing Le Pen on Twitter as ‘the embodiment of racism and xenophobia’. Touré also called for Soumare’s release.

In the letter, Soumare also asked if Sall, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, planned to delay the presidential elections in February 2024.  While a third term would be unconstitutional, the recent crackdown on opposition candidates has roused suspicion locally and internationally. In February, the opposition leader of the Patriots of Senegal party, Ousmane Sonko, was detained amid a trial for defamation after he accused the tourism minister, Mame Mbaye Niang, of corruption. Sonko also faces rape charges that if convicted would see him face up to ten years in prison and render him ineligible to run for president.

On Saturday, there were protests in Paris to denounce Sall’s attempt at running for a third term. However, the Senegalese president, who is also the president of the African Union, has been silent on whether he would be seeking a third term in 2024⎈

Case of journalist Pape Ndiaye: The Minister of Justice intervenes into an on-going legal case

 FROM: Dakar Matin 

by Pierre Dieme March 12, 2023 - 2:27 pm 

After his arrest followed by his transfer to the prison of Sébikotane, the case of journalist and court reporter Pape Ndiaye appears to be becoming more complex. This is if  we can assess the intervention of the Minister of Justice, Ismaïla Madior Fall,  who made comments justifying the arrest live on Sud Fm.

During the Sud fm broadcast the Minister commented on the on-going legal case by dismissing the statement of the journalist (which lead to his arrest, in which he had mentioned the opposition of 19 deputy prosecutors to the continuation of the case against opposition leader Ousmane Sonko by the Chief prosecutor)   by stating that Pape Ndiaye's statement was “False, there are 11 deputy prosecutors”,

Ismaïla Madior Fall went on to state that he finds the arrest of Pape Ndiaye very normal. “There are a lot of columnists, why  was it  that is was only him who was arrested?  His remarks undermined and discredited the reputation of magistrates, and he refuses to divulge his sources"

It should be remembered that the charges against the journalist are 

• Incitement to of a crowd
• Contempt of court
• Intimidation and reprisals against a member of the judiciary
• Speech discrediting a judicial act
• Dissemination of false news, 
• Endangering life others

according to his lawyer Me Sarr.

The journalist is currently being detained on remand
in the Prison Sébikotane.

FREE PAPE NDIAYE – SENEGALESE WALF TV JOURNALIST

 

From: Open Gambia 4th March 2023

  · 

Another journalist detained, another assault on press freedom, another crack in Senegal’s reputation as a democracy.

Respected legal columnist, the Walf TV journalist Pape Ndiaye was detained in police custody on Friday 3rd March in Dakar. The reason given for his arrest was given as being for "spreading false news" and "contempt of court". The arrest follows a broadcast by Pape Ndiaye on Walf TV’s breakfast show!

During this broadcast Ndiaye revealed shocking new news in relation to the Ousmane Sonko “sweet beauty” case. What he revealed was that the Prosecutor’s decision to refer the case for prosecution to the criminal chamber was made despite the fact that on two occasions the 19 deputy prosecutors reporting to him had requested that the charges against opposition leader Ousmane Sonko be dropped through lack of evidence.

It should be remembered that in this case the official medical report from a leading gynaecologist dismissed the act of rape or indeed any sexual relations at the time, there are no witnesses for the prosecution, the alleged victim having made a wide range of contradictory statements (including leaked audios denying the alleged rape) and overwhelming evidence supporting the allegation of a plot against the opposition leader. Ndiaye reported that despite the concerns of the 19 deputy prosecutors the prosecutor twice insisted in over-riding their concerns and referring the case to the criminal court due to the express “desire of Macky Sall”.

In the programme Pape Ndiaye also discussed the lack of independence of the Senegalese judiciary from political interference due to the control of career progression and postings within the judiciary being dependent on decisions of the Executive. He outlined a number of concrete examples of how some judges renowned for their independence, especially in relation to the Sonko case, had constantly been side-lined and subjected to “punishment postings” (postings in geographically distant courts or to courts outside their specialisms), whereas those favourable to the outcomes desired by the regime are promoted beyond their competence. He gave evidence that the issues of punishment postings and executive interference in the justice system had been raised in a report from judges themselves.

These are very legitimate issues for an investigative legal journalist to address, especially in the context of the acres of print and hours of discussion on this case, and the implications of the potential elimination of the front runner in the 2024 presidential election. The concept of “contempt of court” in this case is blatantly ridiculous given the saturation coverage of every single detail and allegation of the case

According to reports (Liberation newspaper), during the police interrogation Pape Ndiaye was asked by the investigators to reveal his sources, something that he refused to do. It should be noted that the IFJ Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists, reinforced by international and many national laws, states that; “The journalist shall observe professional secrecy regarding the source of information obtained in confidence”.

It is worrying that increasingly the freedom of the press is under attack in Senegal. It is equally worrying that there is the use of detention before trial as a means of silencing journalists who express uncomfortable views and expose inconvenient truths. Attacks on press freedoms are like a virus, borders are no barriers. Once established in one country it is only a matter of time before its neighbours start to follow the same paths to eliminate the journalistic thorns in their flesh. This is why we say “FREE PAPE NDIAYE” and “Solidarity with Senegalese journalists under attack”

From our Dakar Correspondant

SENEGAL: Macky Sall accused of funding racist French politician

From The Continent - 11 MARCH 2023  ISSUE 119

A former prime minister of Senegal, Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré, spent Thursday night in jail over an open letter he wrote to the current president, Macky Sall, asking him if he donated $12-million to a French politician whose party is best known for “hatred and rejection of others.” 

Although unnamed in the letter, the French politician was largely understood to be Marie Le Pen, who visited Sall in January and whose far-right French political party rode on anti-immigration sentiments to become a serious power contender in that country