Two prominent members of Senegal’s main opposition party have been released in two separate cases, their lawyers and party told AFP on Wednesday (July 19).
El Malick Ndiaye, the national communications secretary of Senegal’s African Patriots for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Pastef) party, was released on bail after being charged with “acts or maneuvers aimed at compromising public safety and spreading false news”, said party spokesman Ousseynou Ly and lawyer Cire Cledor Ly. “El Malick Ndiaye is accused of an audio of which he is not the author, which he disputes and whose paternity has been claimed by an identified person”, declared the lawyer.
Birame Souleye Diop, vice-president of the party and member of parliament, was released on Wednesday after being charged on July 11 with insulting the president in a case concerning some of his statements concerning the head of state, Macky Sall, according to his lawyer, Moussa Sarr. “At the moment, no trial in sight,” said the lawyer, who did not specify the conditions of the opponent’s release.
The Pastef is led by Ousmane Sonko, the most determined opponent of Macky Sall, who was sentenced to two in prison in June for a morality case. The verdict, which rendered the opponent ineligible for the February 2024 presidential election, sparked the most serious riots in Senegal in years, which left sixteen people dead. Mr. Sonko has been blocked by security forces at his home in Dakar, “sequestered” according to him, since May 28.