AFPPolice officers guard the court where Sonko is being heard
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 22:51
In Senegal, opposition leader Ousmane Sonko’s Pastef party has been dissolved. According to the interior minister, the party was disbanded because Sonko incited his supporters to last month’s violent protests. At least 23 people were killed, according to Amnesty International.
Sonko stood trial last month for the 2021 rape of a 20-year-old massage parlor employee, but was acquitted. However, according to the judge, he had been guilty of “corrupting the youth”. After he was sentenced to two years in prison for this, violent protests broke out in the country.
Sonko is now accused of, among other things, plotting an uprising because he has called for protest. He was arrested on Friday. Sonko says the charges are politically motivated. Yesterday, the opposition leader went on hunger strike.
Demonstrators also took to the streets in the capital Dakar today. Reuters news agency reports that in some places small groups of demonstrators clashed with the police. It is not known whether there were any injuries.
Elections
Sonko’s supporters say President Macky Sall is using the accusations against the opposition leader to exclude his opponent from participating in the elections, which are scheduled for February.
Sonko was also arrested in 2021 on suspicion of rape. Violent protests followed his arrest, in which several people were killed. Sonko also said the president had him arrested to prevent him from running in the 2024 elections.
Pastef is one of the three largest opposition parties in Senegal. Pastef came third in the previous elections. At the beginning of this month, Sall announced in a televised speech that he would not be available for a possible third term.
Internet shut down
In an effort to curb the unrest, the government has blocked parts of the internet. This measure was taken due to the spread of “hateful messages” on social media, the Ministry of Communications writes in a statement.
As a result of the political unrest, gas station managers have announced a three-day strike, French oil and gas company TotalEnergies said in a statement. Petrol stations, especially those of French and other Western companies, have often been targeted in previous protests.
2023-07-31 20:51:23
#Political #unrest #demonstrations #Senegal
