In Senegal, the summons of political figures and columnists critical of the new authorities have increased in recent days. Since September 30, two journalists have been placed in police custody for spreading false news. And this Wednesday, October 2, the opponent Bougane Gueye Dany, was, in turn, summoned to the cybercrime division.
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With our correspondent in Dakar, Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
Bougane Gueye Dany, who is a candidate in the early legislative elections, described his arrest in a press release as “ provocation ” And ” insult to democracy “. At the end of the afternoon, the opponent was still being questioned by the police. According to his lawyers, he is accused of having contested figures on public debt announced last week by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
Same scenario for journalist Cheikh Yerim Seck, who was placed in police custody on Tuesday for defamation and spreading false news after declaring on a television program that the figures presented were false. “ The former journalist from Jeune Afrique considered that these figures were false, he repeated it several times “, explains his lawyer Mamadou Gueye Mbow, but “ the content of his remarks does not justify a measure of deprivation of liberty “.
Finally, the columnist of a private channel, Kader Dia, was also placed in police custody on Monday for broadcasting false news, among other things. He must be presented to the public prosecutor today. In question, his statements in a television program, reporting a request for a bribe from the police to allow the passage of the canoe in which 34 dead bodies were discovered two weeks ago.
This series of arrests provokes a reaction from civil society organizations who fear an instrumentalization of justice and ” settlement of accounts “. “ Systematic imprisonment has never been a solution » denounces human rights defender Moundiaye Cissé who calls for protecting the freedom of opinion.
In Senegal, the dissemination of false news is punishable by up to three years in prison, but human rights organizations have been calling for several years now for prison sentences for this type of offense to be abolished.
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