Pape Alé Niang, the Senegalese journalist who runs the Dakar Matin website, has been held in prison since 20 December for “disclosing information likely to harm the national defence”, “concealing administrative and military documents” and “disseminating false news”, was evacuated to the main hospital (in Dakar) yesterday evening after a hunger strike, according to one of his lawyers, Moussa Sarr.
Pape Alé Niang was released and placed under judicial supervision on 14 December. However, the Dakar prosecutor’s office “revoked” this judicial supervision on 20 December, justifying this decision by the journalist’s “media outbursts on the subject of the prosecution” which are “a violation of obligations”.
The Dakar prosecutor’s office added that the Senegalese journalist had “divulged information about the investigation on YouTube” and had made “unjustified attacks on both a police authority and the investigators.
The detention has led to a wave of criticism of the authorities by media professionals and civil society.