Pape Alé Niang, a Senegalese journalist, was arrested on Sunday 6 November at his home and taken into police custody. He is accused of having made defamatory remarks against officers of the gendarmerie and distributed secret army documents. The day before, Fatou Dione was assaulted by the police when she was covering a demonstration. Two cases that have provoked the ire of a union of journalists.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Birahim Toure
The journalist Pope Ale Niang was arrested for concealment and publication of military documents without authorization from the hierarchy likely to harm national defense, call for subversion and propagation of false news “. According to Me Ciré Cledor Ly, one of his lawyers, it was on the order of the public prosecutor that the police arrested the journalist.
He is accused of having made defamatory remarks against the gendarmerie and of having disseminated classified documents on the case. Beauty Sweatshirt during a live broadcast on Facebook on Thursday, November 6. The name of the case comes from a massage parlor whose employee accuses of rape Ousmane Sonkoone of the leaders of the Senegalese opposition.
Serious accusations according to the journalist’s lawyer who believes that we are trying to muzzle him. Several organizations, including the union of journalists and communication professionals (Synpics), denounced the arrest of Pape Alé Niang. Part of the political class has also “ denounced an attempt to intimidate journalists “. For the moment, the judicial authorities and the police have not communicated on this case.
“ These attacks must stop »
The case of Pape Alé Niang is not the only one that has made the Synpics react. On Saturday, another Senegalese journalist Fatou Dione was assaulted by security forces during a demonstration. The reporter fainted and was taken to the hospital. For the union, it is too much aggression and he alerted the authorities two weeks ago to the increase in violence against journalists.
“ These attacks must stop because journalists are important actors in democracyprotests Maguette Ndong, spokesperson for Synpics. All minds are focused on 2024 which are really major deadlines in Senegalese political life. And we believe that the press has a major role to play in relaying these events so that public opinion is informed by what is happening in Senegal. »
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