Firebrand Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko mentioned Sunday 30 July 2023 he had began a starvation strike from custody after being arrested this week, as his legal professionals condemned his arrest.
Senegal’s public prosecutor on Saturday introduced seven new fees in opposition to the politician — a vocal critic of President Macky Sall who has confronted a string of authorized woes he claims are aimed toward conserving him out of politics.
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Sonko invitations all political detainees for strike
“Within the face of a lot hate, lies, oppression, persecution, I’ve determined to withstand”, Sonko wrote, inviting “all political detainees” to affix him on the strike. He’s scheduled to be interrogated by a decide on Monday. In a press convention on Sunday within the capital Dakar, Sonko’s legal professionals mentioned authorities had not revered his rights.
One among them, the French nationwide Juan Branco, appeared on the press convention regardless of Senegalese prosecutors submitting a global arrest warrant in opposition to him on July 14. “We got here right here to inform you that we weren’t afraid”, Branco mentioned.
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“I swear to defend a person, Ousmane Sonko, whose physique carries the hopes of a whole individuals and, due to this fact, of all humanity.” On June 22, Branco mentioned he had filed a felony criticism in opposition to Sall in France for “crimes in opposition to humanity” and had requested a probe by the Worldwide Felony Court docket (ICC) in The Hague.
His initiatives additionally named Inside Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome and gendarmerie chief Basic Moussa Fall amongst greater than 100 others accused. The transfer sparked Senegal’s ire, with International Minister Aissata Tall Sall lashing it as “infantile and puerile” and falling far in need of the benchmark wanted for authorized scrutiny.
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Senegalese opposition chief’s lawyer speaks
Sonko’s legal professionals additionally argued that his arrest on the brand new allegations cancelled his conviction in a high-profile ethical corruption case as a result of he had been tried in absentia. In line with Senegal’s penal code, if defendants who’re tried in absentia are arrested inside a sure limitation interval, any conviction is mechanically annulled except they expressly comply with the sentence inside ten days.
His sentencing to 2 years in jail on June 1 sparked clashes that left a minimum of 16 useless. The sentence makes him ineligible to contest subsequent yr’s presidential election. However the prosecutor mentioned his arrest on Friday and the brand new fees introduced on Saturday are unrelated to the ethical corruption case.
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The brand new fees are over feedback he has made, rallies he has held, and different episodes since 2021, together with an incident at his dwelling on Friday that led to his arrest. They embody calling for revolt, undermining state safety, felony affiliation with a terrorist physique and theft.
On Saturday, a distinguished Senegalese journalist and authorities critic was additionally arrested and started a starvation strike, in keeping with his lawyer. Pape Ale Niang had on Friday spoken about Sonko’s arrest in a live-streamed video on YouTube.
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© Agence France-Presse
