Senegal: opposition leader Ousmane Sonko sentenced on appeal to 6 months suspended prison sentence for defamation and insults

Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko during a meeting in Dakar on March 14, 2023. © JOHN WESSELS / AFP

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2 min

Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko was sentenced on Monday, May 8 on appeal to a six-month suspended prison sentence for defamation and public insult, in the case between him and Minister Mame Mbaye Niang. The Court of Appeal confirmed the amount of damages set at first instance: 200 million CFA francs. He risks ineligibility in the event of a final conviction.

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The verdict was pronounced: the Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko was sentenced on appeal to six months in prison suspended for defamation and public insult. In addition, he was also ordered to pay damages like the court of first instance, amounting to 200 million CFA francs (300,000 euros).

The trial was held in the absence of the main interested party, the opponent Ousmane Sonko having announced on Sunday evening, May 7, that he would not be present. "I will no longer appear in court to answer for anything," he said.

The political opponent and mayor of Ziguinchor had convened a session of the municipal council of his city in Casamance, in the south of the country, on the same day and at the same time as his trial, reports our correspondent in Dakar, Théa Ollivier.

The Minister of Tourism, Mame Mbaye Niang, was present at the courthouse. At the bar, dressed in white this morning, he asked for an exemplary sanction, explaining that he felt "slandered", "insulted", "dragged through the mud" in this case, reports our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac.

During the hearing, Minister Mame Mbaye Niang's seven lawyers asked for the defamation to be confirmed with a minimum sentence of four months, plus the addition of the offences of "public insults" and "forgery and use of forgery". And in terms of reparation, Ousmane Sonko having accused Mame Mbaye Niang, on the basis of a report, of having embezzled 29 billion CFA francs, the civil party therefore asked for 29 billion CFA francs in damages.

For his part, the prosecutor insisted on the "forgery and use of forgery" component, he requested a total sentence of two years in prison, including one year firm, as well as an arrest warrant against Ousmane Sonko.

Demonstration already planned for Friday

Today, 257 prisoners – mostly from his Pastef party – have also decided to start a hunger strike, partly in solidarity with him.

Ousmane Sonko denounces a plot to remove him from the political scene and recalls his "campaign for civil disobedience against justice". The politician is also accused of rape in another trial, the first hearing of which is due to be held on 16 May.

In a tense context, after rallies that have degenerated, a demonstration is already planned Friday, May 12 by the platform "of the living forces of the nation F24". This in particular to oppose the third mandate of Macky Sall, but also to denounce "the instrumentalization of justice to eliminate candidates".

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Read on on the same topics:

• Senegal
• Macky Sall
• Justice