APA-Dakar (Senegal) – Amnesty International estimates that “at least 60 people have been shot dead” during political demonstrations in Senegal in recent times.
The National Assembly is preparing to consider a bill for a general amnesty for political and judicial acts committed by jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
Between March 2021 and February 2024, these cases led to the deaths of more than sixty people during demonstrations that were severely repressed by the forces of law and order. While the initiative has been met with mixed reactions at the national level, it has been denounced by human rights organisations, which describe it as an “affront to the families of the victims.”
In a statement to APA on Tuesday, Amnesty International warned that the adoption of the amnesty law by parliament would constitute a “failure” by the Senegalese state to fulfil its obligation under international law to provide justice, truth and reparation to the families of the more than 60 people killed during the demonstrations.
The rights watchdog pointed out that “fifteen families” have already filed complaints with the courts and are still waiting for justice.
“This bill is a denial of justice to the victims and their families who are waiting for justice, truth and reparation. By adopting such a law, the Senegalese state would not only be failing to fulfil its national and international obligations, but would also be encouraging impunity for blood crimes,” condemned Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Regional Director, pointing out that Benin was recently censured by the African judiciary for adopting amnesty laws.
In a ruling on an amnesty law for acts committed during the April 2019 legislative elections in the West African country, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that such “amnesty laws cannot exempt the state that adopts them from its international obligations (…) and that the prohibition of prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes is a violation of international law and that the prohibition of prosecution for acts committed during the April 2019 legislative elections in this West African country cannot exonerate the state that adopts them from its international obligations (…).”
In light of these consequences, Amnesty International is calling for “prompt, thorough and impartial judicial investigations” into the use of force by defence and security forces during demonstrations, and for those suspected of unlawful killings to be brought to justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts.
“The Senegalese authorities must not use this law as an excuse to ignore the crimes that have been committed. On the contrary, they must hold to account all those suspected of criminal responsibility for the excessive and lethal use of force against demonstrators. The authorities must also immediately and unconditionally release all those arbitrarily detained and prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” said Seydi Gassama, Amnesty International’s Senegal Director.
The draft law, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 28 February 2024 and justified by the “spirit of national reconciliation” and the “preservation of the rule of law and the Republic,” covers all acts that could be classified as crimes or offences related to “demonstrations or those with political motives” that take place in Senegal or abroad between 1 February 2021 and 25 February 2024.
ODL/ac/lb/as/APA