In Dakar, several hundred people took part in a sit-in on Sunday, March 19 in front of the offices of the Walfadjri press group to demand the release of the legal reporter Pape Ndiaye. The journalist has been charged since March 7 for, among other things, spreading false news. He had affirmed in a program that the majority of the judges of the general prosecutor’s office had pronounced in favor of a dismissal of the opponent Ousmane Sonko, accused of rape.
In the crowd with t-shirts marked “Free Pope Ndiaye!” and scarves in the colors of Senegal, fellow journalists who came to show their support, such as Sambou Biagui of the Press Association for Mutual Aid and Solidarity. “We are seeing that today, freedom of the press is being flouted in Senegal. And when journalists no longer have the right to say what they see, and what they hear, it becomes dangerous. »
Also came to the sit-in, many worried Senegalese citizens, who find the arrest of Pape Ndiaye excessive. Ibrahima Soumaré works in tourism. “I’m one of those fans, I follow his shows, and I know he’s one of the best about justice. And that’s why I came to support him. »
Véronique Diallo, 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. »