Senegal: sit-in in front of Walf offices to support journalist Pape Ndiaye

Audio 01:24

A poster calling for the release of Senegalese journalist Pape Ndiaye, on January 26, 2023, in Paris (illustration image) AFP - STEFANO RELLANDINI

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In Dakar, several hundred people participated in a sit-in yesterday Sunday in front of the offices of the Walfadjri press group to demand the release of judicial columnist Pape Ndiaye. The journalist has been charged since 7 March for, among other things, spreading false news. He had said in a broadcast that the majority of the judges of the prosecutor general had ruled in favor of a dismissal of the opponent Ousmane Sonko, accused of rape.

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With our correspondent in Dakar, Juliette Dubois

In the crowd with t-shirts bearing the logo "Free Pape Ndiaye!" and scarves in the colors of Senegal, fellow journalists came to show their support, like Sambou Biagui of the Press Association for Mutual Aid and Solidarity. "We are seeing that press freedom is being violated in Senegal today. And when journalists no longer have the right to say what they see, what they hear, it becomes dangerous.

Also coming to the sit-in, many Senegalese citizens worried, 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 he's one of the best about justice. 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, quite simply. No need for an arrest.

The CEO of Walfadjri, Cheikh Niasse, denounces repeated attacks against his press group. Walf TV had already been suspended for a week in February for broadcasting footage of violent protests. "This was a desire to financially asphyxiate the Walfadjri group. Then, the arrest of Mr. Pape Ndiaye. There is a will, in any case, to simply close the group.

The NGO Amnesty International says it is concerned about the intensification of repression in Senegal, a year before the next presidential election.

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• Senegal
• Media