ASSOCIATION
Council of Ministers adopts draconian anti-LGBTQI+ law
On 18th February 2026, the government of Senegal approved a bill during a Council of Ministers meeting aimed at strengthening legislation against same sex relations. This draft law increases incarceration periods, imposes substantial financial penalties, and extends these penalties to organisations promoting homosexual relations. The bill significantly increases penalties for “unnatural acts” from the current one to five years’ imprisonment to five to ten years, accompanied by fines increasing to 10 million CFA francs, while also introducing sentences of three to seven years for “apology” of homosexuality and two to three years for false accusations. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko submitted and announced the draft law to Parliament on 24th February 2026. The adoption of this draft law comes in the immediate context of the arrest of 12 men, including two well-known celebrities, near Dakar between 4th and 6th February 2026. Among those arrested were Pape Cheikh Diallo, a 42-year-old TV and radio host famous for his show “Face à Pape Cheikh” on TFM, and Djiby Dramé, a musician. Following an investigation by the Keur Massar unit in Dakar’s suburbs, the 12 men were accused of “criminal conspiracy, unnatural acts/homosexuality, deliberate transmission of HIV/AIDS through unprotected sexual intercourse and endangering the lives of others” under Article 319.3 of Senegal’s penal code, which criminalises same-sex relations. The 12 men were remanded in custody, awaiting investigation and trial proceedings.
For human rights defenders, this new legal framework could lead to an organised state “hunt” targeting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals. Human rights organisations, notably Human Rights Watch, have denounced and urged Senegal to adhere to its international human rights obligations by respecting and protecting the rights of LGBT people.
Senegal’s Supreme Court annuls Ministry of Communication orders following petition filed by the CDEPS
On 11th December 2025, Senegal’s Supreme Court annulled two Ministry of Communication orders, specifically order No. 017412 of 29th July 2024, and No. 024462 of 1st October 2024, which had established a digital platform for the compulsory registration and identification of media enterprises and the establishment of a regulatory commission. According to the Supreme Court, the measures had no legal basis under the Press Code, and the Minister of Communication acted ultra-vires. The decision invalidated the registration platform, the commission and related sanctions against media houses. This decision follows a petition filed by the Conseil des diffuseurs et éditeurs de presse du Sénégal (CDEPS), an umbrella body representing private media organisations.
EXPRESSION
Journalist Abdou Nguer arrested on false information charges
On 18th February 2026 in Dakar, the police arrested news commentator Abdou Nguer for challenging public prosecutor Ousmane Ndoye’s statement at a press conference on the cause of a student’s death during a protest on 9th February staged by students from Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) and Gaston-Berger University (UGB). Nguer contested Ndoye’s dismissal of a medical autopsy which indicated that the dead student had been tortured after police stormed the university campus during the student protests.
On 19th February, Ndoye charged Nguer with spreading false news and ordered his trial on 20th February. The Committee to Protect Journalists urged Senegalese authorities to release Nguer without charge.
It should be recalled that on 12th November 2025, a court in Dakar acquitted Nguer and his co-accused Pape Amadou in a separate case after he had spent seven months in pre-trial detention. As previously reported by the CIVICUS Monitor, the Gendarmerie Research Unit arrested and remanded Nguer in custody on 14th April 2025, over allegations of spreading false information related to a TikTok post deemed offensive by the authorities. The Dakar Court acquitted Nguer of charges related to spreading false information and promoting reprehensible acts. However, the Court found Nguer guilty of insulting the head of state and sentenced him to six months in prison, including three months to be served, along with a fine of 200,000 CFA francs (approximately USD 342). However, Nguer was immediately freed because he had already served his sentence during pre-trial detention. Nguer’s co-accused was exonerated of all charges due to lack of evidence.
Journalist Modou Fall detained and prosecuted for comments on police crackdown on student protests
On 11th February 2026 in Dakar, the police arrested Modou Fall, a commentator with the privately owned Sen TV, following remarks he made during a programme aired the previous day. During the broadcast on Sen TV, Fall alleged that government officials had recruited students to falsely accuse opposition figures of orchestrating demonstrations at Dakar’s main university during a student protest on 9th February. On 16th February, Fall appeared before the Flagrante Delicto court in Dakar for allegedly disseminating false information. On 23rd February 2026, a court in Dakar sentenced Fall to a prison sentence of six months, of which five months were suspended.
Journalist detained, prosecuted and released
On 6th February 2026, in Dakar, the Brigade de Recherches (BR) of Faidherbe arrested journalist Falil Gadio of Senegals7’s media outlet following the broadcast of a street interview on Senegal7’s YouTube channel in which an interlocutor named Ousseynou Ndiaye made statements deemed to incite violence. Gadio’s arrest occurred following an investigation launched after the broadcast of the street interview, which he conducted, containing statements made by Ndiaye. Specifically, Ndiaye called on unemployed young people to commit acts of aggression. Gadio was placed in custody and charged with “complicity in provoking the commission of a crime and inciting violence” as well as “inciting violence and glorifying crime.” On 9th February a court in Dakar granted Gadio provisional release pending trial proceedings. Meanwhile, Ndiaye, whom the Public Prosecutor’s office arrested and placed in custody on 6th February, was not granted provisional release.
Senegalese authorities arrest journalists and suspend 7TV and TFM broadcasts following interviews with Madiambal Diagne
On 28th and 29th October 2025 in Dakar, Senegalese authorities arrested two journalists: Maïmouna Ndour Faye, the General Manager of the private television channel 7TV, and Babacar Fall, the Editor-in-Chief of Radio Futurs Médias (RFM). The arrest of Faye and Fall followed broadcasts of interviews with media mogul Madiambal Diagne, who is facing prosecution in Senegal for alleged embezzlement, fraud, and money laundering, and is currently under judicial supervision in France. Faye was arrested on 28th October, shortly after the 7TV channel aired the interview with Diagne, while Fall was arrested on 29th October after conducting a live phone interview with Diagne. Faye and Fall were accused of endangering state security and undermining judicial authority. Fall was released on 29th October while Faye and three other journalists, who were also detained during the raid on RFM, were released on 30th October without charge. Following the incident, the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) signals for Télé Futurs Médias (TFM) – an RFM-linked television channel – and 7TV were reportedly suspended for several days without any motive. National media regulator Conseil national de Régulation de l’Audiovisuel (CNRA) rejected allegations of its involvement in the suspension of TFM and 7TV media channels. On 5th November 2025, the CNRA ordered the immediate resumption of broadcasting activities for 7TV and TNT media outlets.
PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY
Police crackdown during scholarship protests leaves several students injured and one dead
On 9th February 2026, about 100 students were injured and a 20-year-old second-year dental student, Abdoulaye Ba, died under controversial circumstances following a violent police intervention during student protests by the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) student association (amicales d’étudiants) protesting the delays in scholarship payments. The student union accuses the government of intending to permanently halt the scholarship payments for students. The protest led to a violent confrontation between the police and students’ security forces with the latter firing tear gas and the former throwing stones. On 11th February, UCAD’s academic council suspended all student associations at UCAD indefinitely as a precautionary measure for security and property preservation. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the High Court of Dakar opened a judicial investigation into Ba’s death, with the student association alleging the deceased’s death was due to police brutality. On 20th February, approximately a dozen organisations comprising human rights activists and student representatives established a collective at Amnesty International Senegal’s headquarters to demand justice for Ba’s death and reforms to police enforcement methods.
In November and December 2025 students of UCAD and Gaston-Berger University (UGB) had protested the delay in scholarship payments, which had been pending for 13 months. On 2nd December 2025 violent confrontations erupted between students and police, involving stone-throwing, barricades, and tear gas. Tensions heightened when UCAD’s rector requested police intervention, allowing security forces onto the campus. The clashes resulted in 16 students being injured, ten arrested, and 11 police officers injured. To defuse the crisis and restore calm on campuses, on 2nd December 2025 the government of Senegal announced the payments of outstanding scholarships, including 90 billion XOF (approximately 1.54 billion USD) for students in Senegal and eight billion XOF (about 13 million USD) for students pursuing their studies abroad.
Opposition coalition FDR organises mass rally in Dakar
On 31st October 2025 in Dakar, the opposition coalition known as the Front pour La défense de la République et de la démocratie (FDR) organised a peaceful public rally, drawing a crowd of over a thousand participants. The demonstrators marched to call for enhancements in citizens’ purchasing power and to advocate for democratic space that allows freedom of expression. As stated by the organisers, the purpose of the gathering was to “condemn poor governance, injustice, the suppression of opponents and journalists, and to demand the release of political prisoners.”