In six months' time voters in Senegal will head to the polls to choose their next president. But observers say that government-imposed restrictions on social media, journalists and opposition parties are a sign that one of the strongest democracies in West Africa is in trouble.
Senegalese authorities have experts and rights groups worried by their recent arrests, infringements on press freedom, internet shutdowns and the repression of protests.
"It seems to have escalated in the past few weeks, and even more in the past few days," said Jeffrey Conroy-Krutz, a professor of political science who specialises in African politics at Michigan State University.
Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, now on hunger strike and in hospital, has been convicted of immoral behaviour and charged with fomenting insurrection, while human rights advocate and journalist Pape Alé Niang was arrested after commenting on Sonko's detention.
He was granted temporary release on bail on Tuesday.
At its general assembly on 5 August, Amnesty International called on Senegal to release Alé Niang and to end attacks on press freedom.
#Bruxelles - 5 août 2023
— Amnesty Sénégal (@AmnestySenegal) August 6, 2023
Les dirigeants mondiaux d’Amnesty International réunis en Assemblée générale demandent au #Sénégal de libérer le journaliste Pape Alé NIANG et de mettre un terme aux attaques contre la liberté de la presse. pic.twitter.com/ufYFfFKfCn
Worrying internet shutdown
The internet has also been shutdown regularly, as reported by Human Rights Watch in a recent report.
In June Senegal’s government began blocking digital platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube.
Days later, it extended the disruptions to all mobile internet and several television stations.
"The shutdowns have become more serious, even after president Sall announced that he would not run for a third term and protests eased," Conroy-Krutz told RFI.
The shutdowns and arrest of journalists must be taken seriously, he said, adding they did not bode well for a liberal democracy such as Senegal's.
"Senegal’s internet shutdowns are another sign of a democracy in peril."
The dissolution of Sonko's Pastef political party – which set off a wave of rising tensions – is the most worrying development, says Conroy-Krutz.
"That's never happened before in Senegal."
#Sénégal Hausse des tensions, suite à la dissolution du parti d'opposition #PASTEF et à l'arrestation de son dirigeant, Ousmane Sonko. Les autorités devraient annuler cette dissolution et respecter le droit de manifestation pacifique. https://t.co/OiINQvfjIA pic.twitter.com/byJMHqRBDq
— HRW en français (@hrw_fr) August 3, 2023
HRW has urged authorities to rescind this dissolution of Pastef and to respect the rights of citizens to protest peacefully.
On Monday, Senegal's justice minister said Sonko remained ineligible to run in February's presidential election and was not entitled to a retrial after his recent conviction.
Lawyer expelled
Sonko's Franco-Spanish lawyer Juan Branco has been expelled to France after his arrest this week in Mauritania, near the border with Senegal, from where he was transferred to a prison in Dakar.
Branco's lawyers told RFI the arrest was politically motivated and an example of "political muzzling".
Juan Branco vient d’être libéré sous contrôle judiciaire, avec un ordre d’expulsion vers la France. C’est un immense soulagement. Merci à tous pour votre mobilisation. #JuanBranco pic.twitter.com/8SEjd0TwAf
— Robin Binsard (@RobinBinsard) August 7, 2023
The Senegalese Justice Minister, Ismaila Madior Fall, told RFI's correspondent in Dakar that Branco could still be prosecuted, tried and sentenced to prison in France.
Branco gave a press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Paris to detail the conditions of his arrest and detention.
He said that he "slept next to bodies that bore the marks of heavy torture". The lawyer said he wanted to draw attention to the situation, which he blamed on "ferocious, massive repression, using justice to eliminate political adversaries".
Juan Branco, l’avocat français d’Ousmane Sonko, expulsé du Sénégal https://t.co/GdXvw8g2aH
— Actu242 (@Actu2421) August 8, 2023
The arrests and violent put-down of protests by Sonko's supporters are evidence of a serious escalation in Senegal, says Conroy-Krutz.
"Political parties are not always very strong in Senegal, and coalitions even less so, but an important challenge will be to see if the opposition manages to unite and organise a single front," he said.
