In Dakar, several hundred people took part in a sit-in yesterday Sunday in front of the premises of the Walfadjri press group to demand the release of the legal columnist Pape Ndiaye. The journalist has been charged since March 7 for, among other things, spreading false news. He had affirmed in a program that the majority of the judges of the general prosecutor’s office had pronounced in favor of a dismissal of the opponent Ousmane Sonko, accused of rape.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Juliet Dubois
In the crowd with t-shirts branded “ Free Pope Ndiaye ! and with scarves in the colors of Senegal, fellow journalists who came to show their support, such as Sambou Biagui of the Press Association for Mutual Aid and Solidarity. ” We are seeing that today, press freedom is being flouted in Senegal. And when journalists no longer have the right to say what they see, what they hear, it becomes dangerous. »
Also came to the sit-in, many worried Senegalese citizens, who find the arrest of Pape Ndiaye excessive. Ibrahima Soumaré works in tourism. ” I’m one of those fans, I follow his shows, I know it’s one of the best justice-related shows. And that’s why I came to support him. »
Véronique Diallo is a marketing student: “ Even if he made a mistake, all it took was a press release to deny what he said or call him just to ask why he said what he said, period. No need for an arrest. »
The CEO of Walfadjri, Cheikh Niasse, denounces repeated attacks against his press group. The Walf TV channel had already been suspended for a week in February for broadcasting images of violent protests. “ This was a desire to financially asphyxiate the Walfadjri group. Then, the arrest of Mr. Pape Ndiaye. There is a desire, in any case, to simply close the group. »
The NGO Amnesty International says it is worried about the intensification of repression in Senegal, one year before the next presidential election.