Senegal: five years in prison required by the prosecution against Barthélémy Dias
The mayor of Dakar, Barthélémy Dias, December 1, 2021. © SEYLLOU/AFP
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2 mins
In Senegal, the general prosecutor's office requested five years in prison this Wednesday against Barthélémy Dias.
After multiple postponements, the new mayor of Dakar, one of the opposition figures, appeared on appeal in a case dating from 2011: the attack on his town hall in Mermoz Sacré Coeur.
A man, Ndiaga Diouf, was killed in the shooting.
Barthélémy Dias denounces a “
political
” procedure.
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Charlotte Idrac
After five hours of hearing, Barthélemy Dias leaves the courthouse without a word, accompanied by angry supporters.
At the helm, the new mayor of Dakar refuted the charges of murder.
“
I am not an assassin
”, “
the murder weapon is not mine
”, assured Barthélémy Dias in a packed courtroom of the courthouse, framed by an important security device.
After serving a six-month prison sentence in this case, the new mayor of Dakar has refuted the murder charges and pleaded self-defense.
It was he himself who had appealed the judgment at first instance, to "
clear his honor
", he said.
"
There is no excuse, provocation or self-defense
," replied the Advocate General.
"
The assailants were leaving when he fired
," she said.
The prosecution therefore requested the heavy sentence of five years in prison and two years against two of his collaborators.
The civil party, the family of Ndiaga Diouf, killed in 2011, is claiming 150 million CFA francs in damages, or approximately 232,000 euros.
A political trial for his defense
After five hours of hearing, Barthélémy Dias left the court without making a statement.
One of his lawyers, Me Ousseynou Fall, denounced a "
relentlessness
", while the opposition regularly criticizes a "
instrumentalization
" of justice by power, according to him.
“
Unfortunately, over the past ten years, I have witnessed lawsuits that were mostly brought against people who prevented people from going in circles.
In this case, the opponents.
We saw Karim Wade, we saw Mayor Khalifa Ababacar Sall.
There, we see Barthélémy Dias,
tip Ousseynou Fall.
We therefore see a relentlessness against politicians who are being prosecuted because they are not on the same side as the current president Macky Sall.
»
The deliberation is set for May 18.
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