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Senegal’s Sonko can be arrested ‘at any time’: Justice minister | Protests News

Protests have erupted in Senegal’s capital, Dakar, after a court docket sentenced the main opposition determine Ousmane Sonko to 2 years in jail for “corrupting youth”, dealing a blow to his possibilities of operating for president subsequent 12 months.

Sonko, 48, was accused of raping a girl who labored in a magnificence salon in 2021 and making demise threats towards her. He has denied wrongdoing and is boycotting court docket proceedings.

The court docket on Thursday acquitted Sonko of costs of rape and issuing demise threats, however discovered him responsible of a separate legal offence described within the penal code as immoral behaviour in the direction of people youthful than 21.

Against a backdrop of violence, Justice Minister Ismaila Madior Fall advised reporters Sonko can be arrested “at any time”.

“The sentence must be carried out. This is an in absentia case, and the measure can be carried out at any time,” he mentioned.

The case has triggered violent protests, with Sonko’s supporters denouncing the costs towards him as politically motivated, which the federal government and justice officers have denied.

Sonko’s Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) celebration mentioned the decision was a part of a political plot and known as on residents to take to the streets.

Violence erupted at a central college campus, the place protesters set a automobile alight and threw rocks at riot police, who responded by firing tear gasoline.


Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from the street resulting in Sonko’s home, mentioned “police are overwhelmed” with the protests, which have unfold past Dakar to different main cities within the nation together with Ziguinchor.

“There is sheer anger at this verdict that came out of the court earlier today … the fire that we see breaking out is actually at the [university’s] faculty of law. It’s a symbol of how these demonstrators feel towards the justice system,” Haque mentioned.

“They accuse President Macky Sall of utilizing the justice system to clamp down on the opposition and to detain political opponents or political rivals.

“This is very unusual. Senegal is the most stable democracy in the region. It has a history of freedom of speech and yet over 500 people have been arrested – journalists, members of civil society or the opposition.”

Sonko has maintained his innocence and claims President Macky Sall is manipulating the judiciary to torpedo his political profession – a cost the federal government has denied.

If he had been convicted of rape, he would have confronted as much as 20 years imprisonment.

His electoral eligibility had already been overshadowed by a six-month suspended jail sentence for defamation towards a minister. Sonko is interesting that sentence.

Corrupting younger folks, which incorporates utilizing one’s place of energy to have intercourse with folks below age 21, is a legal offence in Senegal that’s punishable by as much as 5 years in jail and a effective of as much as greater than $6,000.

Under Senegalese legislation, his conviction would bar Sonko from operating in subsequent 12 months’s election, mentioned Bamba Cisse, a defence lawyer.

“The conviction for corruption of youth hinders his eligibility because he was sentenced in absentia, so we can’t appeal,” Cisse mentioned. Law professors in Senegal mentioned the decision can be appealed however solely as soon as Sonko is imprisoned.

Opposition chief Ousmane Sonko waves to his supporters throughout a gathering in Ziguinchor, Senegal [File: Muhamadou Bittaye/AFP]

‘Sad day for Senegal’s democracy’

Adama Gaye, creator, journalist and former director of data on the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) advised Al Jazeera that the federal government has influenced the decision.

“It’s a very sad day for Senegal’s democracy. Senegal was known for dirty politics, but that is what we are witnessing now. This may usher a lot of tensions as we move towards the 2024 presidential elections,” Gaye mentioned.

“The government is adamant about maintaining law and order. It will try to abide by the decision made by the justice and this is clearly a decision that is somehow masterminded and doctored by the government, because justice in Senegal is clearly controlled by the executive.”

Tensions had been rising throughout the nation earlier than Sonko’s conviction and sentencing. Tight safety surrounded the court docket, in addition to Sonko’s home, and plenty of companies closed for concern of violence.

On Thursday morning, safety forces prevented journalists and Sonko’s supporters from approaching the home, throwing tear gasoline with out warning at a bunch of reporters.

Haque mentioned the rationale why the election is “so contentious” is “as a result of Senegal has monumental reserves of oil and gasoline.

“Whoever turns into president in February 2024, will be on the helm of one of many largest reserves of liquified nationwide gasoline in Africa, and due to the Russia-Ukraine disaster, Europeans are determined to pump out the gasoline to energy their houses. What’s taking place in Europe is fuelling this uncertainty and this political stress right here in Senegal and West Africa.

“We’ll see if the security forces are able to go through this road, up the road ahead and get Sonko out of his house to put him in jail. But will the people here in Senegal, his supporters accept this? That’s the big question,” Haque mentioned.

The court docket additionally sentenced Sonko’s co-accused, Ndeye Khady Ndiaye, the proprietor of the sweetness salon, to 2 years imprisonment.

A demonstrator throws a rock at riot policemen throughout a protest on the Cheikh Anta Diop University campus in Dakar, Senegal [Leo Correa/AP Photo]

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