Ousmane Sonko, a political opponent, and his deputy Bassirou Diomaye Faye, also a presidential candidate on 24 March, could be released shortly, following President Macky Sall’s instruction to his government at the Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday 13 March to apply the general amnesty law as soon as it comes into force.
“On the social climate, the management and monitoring of internal affairs, the Head of State returned to (…) the vote on the amnesty law, appeasement and national stability, asking the government to proceed without delay with the application of the amnesty law as soon as it is promulgated, in order to consolidate our common desire for national reconciliation, which is essential for speeding up Senegal’s resolute march towards emergence,” reported the communiqué of the Council of Ministers received by APA.
The leader of the African Patriots for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF, now dissolved) has been in detention since July 2023 for “theft of a mobile phone,” and faces criminal charges relating to violent political demonstrations between March 2021 and June 2023. The Secretary General of PASTEF was jailed in May of the same year for criticising the judicial system.
On 6 March, the National Assembly adopted a bill on amnesty for criminal and correctional offences committed during political demonstrations between 2021 and 2024.
The bill was presented by the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, Aissata Tall Sall, who also announced the establishment of a compensation mechanism for people seriously affected by the demonstrations between March 2021 and February 2024.
AC/fss/abj/APA