Senegal’s Sonko sues Sall in France for ‘crimes against humanity

A formal complaint consisting of 170 pages has been submitted against the President of Senegal, Macky Sall. His primary opponent, Ousmane Sonko, has submitted a criminal complaint in France alleging that the defendant committed “crimes against humanity” between the months of March 2021 and June 2023. During a news conference on Thursday (June 22), Sonko’s attorney provided an explanation of the allegations against his client.

Ousmane Sonko’s attorney, Juan Branco, has stated the following about his client: “Over the course of the past month, we have been conducting a comprehensive investigation with the participation of hundreds of Senegalese, all of whom deserve my gratitude,” a French lawyer by the name of Juan Branco remarked. “[They were] citizens, civil servants, and people working in all of the country’s administrations who have provided us with evidence, documents, contracts, videos, and testimonies that have enabled us to establish the existence of sixty crimes of murder that are considered to be crimes against humanity.”

During the press conference, the French-Spaniard attorney Juan Branco exhibited movies and images, some of which contained upsetting evidence. These videos and photos purportedly showed Senegalese protesters being murdered or gravely injured during the violent turmoil that occurred earlier in June. The opposition claims 30 deaths; Amnesty International reports 23, and the government reports 16 deaths for the month of June.

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According to Sonko, the violent riots that broke out after he was sentenced to prison time earlier this month are just the most recent chapter in “a generalised and systematic attack on the civilian population” that has been going on in Senegal since March 2021. He was sentenced to two years in prison for “corrupting the youth” after being found guilty of the charge. A worker at the beauty salon accused him of threatening to kill her and committing rape.

The violent demonstrations that followed the court’s judgement resulted in at least 12 deaths, making them the deadliest that Senegal has seen in recent years. They are the worst that Senegal has seen in years. In addition to the President of Senegal, opposition leader Sonko’s lawsuit targets 112 other individuals, including the Minister of the Interior, Antoine Diome, and the Chief of the Military Police, Moussa Fall.

His formal complaint has been submitted to the Paris tribunal’s unit for investigating crimes against humanity. It is alleged that Sall and Diome “ordered and supervised the commission” of crimes “against unarmed demonstrators since March 2021.” These alleged crimes include “murders, torture, and forced disappearances.” Additionally, Sonko asked for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct an investigation. He relies on a clause that makes it possible for any individual or organisation to make a request for an investigation to be initiated.

Senegal is currently in the midst of a tense political climate as the country prepares for presidential elections in 2024. Because he is personable and has a sharp tongue, Sonko has attracted a large following among the younger generation in Senegal. They like his barbs against the political establishment, whom he refers to as the “state mafia.” He made the announcement that he would be running for office again the following year; however, his conviction may preclude him from doing so.

The current president, Macky Sall, who came to power in 2012 on a wave of discontent over his predecessor Abdoulaye Wade’s efforts to seek a third term in office, has refused to rule out a similar move. This animosity helped propel President Macky Sall to power in 2012. On Thursday (June 22), police personnel on the outskirts of Paris, where Senegalese President Macky Sall is attending an international meeting, repelled demonstrators who were opposed to Sall. The legal complaint was referred to as “ridiculous” by Macky Sall.

Former tax inspector who later entered politics In 2014, Sonko established the PASTEF-Les Patriotes political party. But two years later, when he was sacked from his position as a tax inspector for openly criticising questionable public sector contracts and calling out the political elite, he rose to fame, and he has remained in the public eye ever since.

In 2017, Sonko was elected to the House of Representatives, and then in 2019, he made an amazing run for the presidency of the country. Sonko has been steadily climbing the political ladder since 2017. An unexpectedly impressive showing for such a newbie, he came in third place with 15 percent of the vote, running on a platform that criticised the establishment while competing against veterans in the race.

Yoro Dia, one of the president’s aides, described Sonko’s method as “the antithesis of our democratic culture and traditions.” According to Dia, Sonko is fueling the flames of potential violence in order to evade justice. He referred to Sonko as “the Trojan Horse of the Salafists,” a group whose strict and ultra-orthodox interpretation of Islam stands in stark contrast to the more lenient Sufi mysticism practised in Senegal.

The volatile southern region of Casamance is where Sonko’s birth took place.Amadou Badji, a retiree in the principal town of the region, Ziguinchor, who is 75 years old, stated that Sall has been pursuing Sonko for the past five years “simply because he raises hope.”However, Algassim Diallo, a 33-year-old coffee vendor, claimed that “a yarn about rape has held the country captive for the past two years. It’s time to move on to other things.”