Senegal: A tumultuous electoral process with amnesty for perpetrators of violence against protesters; media in dire financial situation

INTRODUCTION

Civil society successfully pushed for the respect of the electoral process

In December 2023, Senegal’s civic space rating was downgraded from “obstructed” to “repressed” as its civic space conditions had deteriorated significantly. The following months confirmed this rating: the president postponed the presidential elections, the authorities used digital repression, journalists were threatened or attacked while reporting on demonstrations, and security forces dispersed protesters with tear gas. The days following the vote in the National Assembly to postpone the presidential election on 5th February 2024 saw security forces use live ammunition against protesters, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, the arrest of hundreds and the banning of marches.

On 15th February 2024, Senegal’s Constitutional Council declared the decree postponing the elections unconstitutional and therefore null and void, prompting President Sall to announce that the presidential elections would be held “as soon as possible”.

Observers have noted the role of Senegal’s active and organised civil society in upholding Senegal’s democratic progress, as well as strong judicial institutions. For example, some 40 civil society groups, including unions, academics, social movements, religious leaders, election observers and other civil society organisations, quickly formed an alliance, called Aar Sunu Election (Protect Our Elections), demanding adherence to the law.

On 6th March 2024, ahead of the elections, the National Assembly passed a controversial amnesty law (see under Peaceful Assembly) and on 14th March opposition figures, such as Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, were released from prison. Hundreds of people spontaneously took to the streets in celebration of their release.

On 24th March 2024, with a 66 per cent turnout, Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the opposition African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) was elected president with 54.2 percent of the vote. He appointed Sonko as prime minister.

It is yet to be seen how Faye’s promise of change and a radical break with his predecessor will impact civic space. At the time of writing, most of Faye’s priorities related to economic and diplomatic issues.

PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY

Amnesty law for political protesters and perpetrators of violence

As reported on the Monitor in the last few years, the right to peaceful assembly has been violated, including through excessive use of force, use of live ammunition, and the detention and prosecution of protesters. According to Amnesty International, at least 56 people were killed by the police and gendarmerie during demonstrations between March 2021 and August 2023.

On 26th February 2024, then President Sall proposed an amnesty law guaranteeing immunity for all perpetrators of violence during political demonstrations between 1st February 2021 and 25th February 2024. On 6th March, it was passed by the Senegalese Parliament. The law was presented as a way to calm political tensions and reunite the country. The law not only covered protesters but also security forces and those responsible at the highest levels of Senegal’s security apparatus and political circles.

Human rights associations, citizens’ movements and the opposition said the law promotes impunity as it removes the possibility of investigating and prosecuting those who have killed or caused material damage.. A Senegalese human rights lawyer, Moussa Sarr, told Human Rights Watch that “granting a blanket amnesty including to some members of the defence and security forces who have been credibly accused of deadly violence during protests is a betrayal of the victims and undermines their access to justice.”

Regarding the crackdown on these protests, a joint investigation by Al Jazeera and the Spanish porCausa Foundation revealed that the Senegalese government had deployed a special counterterrorism unit to suppress these pro-democracy protests and that this special unit had been created, equipped and trained with funding from the European Union. This unit was originally meant to fight cross-border crime in Senegal’s border areas with Mali. On 25th March 2024, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) asked the European Commission to open an investigation into the management and use of European Union funds in Senegal.

EXPRESSION

Journalist stabbed by anonymous assailant

On 29th February 2024, following a tense week of protests, Maïmouna Ndour Faye, owner of the Dakar-based 7TV, was attacked by an unidentified assailant. She was stabbed and left unconscious outside her home. The attack occurred shortly after Maïmouna Ndour Faye’s regular programme with Farba Ngom, a Member of Parliament and head of propaganda for the then ruling party, the Alliance pour la République (APR). The attack was condemned by many, including the then President Macky Sall. On 31st May 2024, the investigation was still ongoing.

Detention of journalists after publications suggesting a rift between the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff of the Senegalese Army

Two journalists, Pape Moussa Traoré and Mohamed Guèye, were detained on 30th and 31st May 2024 respectively, to be questioned by the gendarmerie. Pape Moussa Traoré is editor of the daily La Tribune and Mohamed Guèye is editor of Le Quotidien. They were both summoned following the publication of articles on the Kandé affair. The affair revolved around General Kandé’s assignment as military attaché in India, a move seen as a form of forced exile for the senior officer. The article suggested that the decision had been influenced by political manoeuvreing, notably involving Ousmane Sonko. The two journalists were released on 31st May 2024.

In a press release, the Coordination of Press Associations (Cap) deplored “the resumption of summonses of journalists in the exercise of their duties (…) less than two months after a new regime has taken office”.

Calls from a financially drained press go unanswered

Recent years have seen unprecedented pressure on Senegalese media, through unlawful arrests, attacks, and judicial persecution. The courts have typically thrown out such cases but sometimes not until after months of detention. Reporters Without Borders ranked Senegal 94th out of 180 countries this year, a place still far away from the 49th position it held in 2021.

In June 2024, the NGO also produced a report entitled “Senegalese journalism at a crossroads”, looking back at three years of turmoil for the media and issuing recommendations to the new authorities.

On World Press Freedom Day in May 2024, President Faye recalled the crucial role of journalists and the media “in consolidating and preserving the democratic foundations” of the nation and pledged to “strengthen mechanisms to support press freedom, protect journalists in the exercise of their duties and their quest for the truth, while promoting fair regulation of new media”.

Despite this pledge, tension remained high between the government and the media.

Media tax debt and dire financial situation of media outlets in Senegal

Tension remained high between the government and the media regarding the large tax debt due by the media. On 18th March 2024, a few days before leaving the presidential palace, outgoing President Macky Sall had agreed to write off a large tax debt - 40 billion CFA francs in tax obligations and audiovisual royalties - during a meeting with the Council of Press Distributors and Publishers, However, he did not formalise this agreement. At the same time, then candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye had made clear during the brief election campaign that he did not favour this tax amnesty.

On 9th June, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko repeatedly criticised the press in front of supporters of his party. In particular, he indicated that unpaid taxes by press companies could be treated as embezzlement. He added that the media would not be allowed “to write whatever they want about people, in the name of so-called freedom of the press, without any reliable source”.

Several players in the sector have denounced these statements. Moreover, they do not address the dire economic situation of the media and the necessary reform of public aid to the sector. In June, the independent daily newspaper Walfadjri saw its bank account blocked by the authorities to allow the administration to recover an old tax debt. In July, the publisher of two of the country’s most widely read sports newspapers, Stades and Sunu Lamb, suspended publication due to economic difficulties.

RSF therefore called on the government for urgent reforms to improve the transparency of public subsidies, to promote reliable media and to better regulate media advertising.

This tension between the new authorities and the media only escalated further. On 5th August 2024, the Council of Press Distributors and Publishers sent a note to its members identifying various problematic points that according to them indicate a desire to muzzle the press in Senegal and feel contempt from the government.

On 13th August 2024, many newspapers, radio and television stations followed the call of the Council of Broadcasters and Publishers to hold a day without press - to not publish any news for a day - to highlight the difficulties facing the sector. According to the group, which brings together private and public publishers, press freedom is under threat in Senegal. The group accuses the authorities of freezing the bank accounts of media companies for non-payment of taxes, seizing production equipment, unilaterally and illegally breaking advertising contracts, and freezing payments due to the media. “The aim is none other than to control information and domesticate media players”, according to the Council’s leaders.

The next day, the Senegal President called for “appropriate recovery measures” for the national press, and “a renewed dialogue” with the media, without specifying what these measures would be.

On 16th August 2024, the government officially launched a “Media Declaration Platform” to facilitate interaction between the State and media companies and help them comply with the regulations. Registration is compulsory and required for official recognition.

Coordinated cyber-harassment of journalists on social networks

According to RSF, African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) supporters have set up a coordinated strategy of harassing people on social networks whom they identify as critics of their party. Their modus operandi has been dubbed “72h PASTEF”. For any voice critical of the new regime, a virtual army of PASTEF supporters attacks, denigrates and harasses the person for 72 hours. When they don’t like a post, a campaign of cyber-harassment is launched. As a result, journalists either self-censor or decide to suspend their presence on social networks.

RSF reports three victims of this strategy: the reporter Mor Amar of the news outlet EnQuete, who criticised in a Facebook post the fact that the official activities of the President were only covered by the Radio Télévision Sénégalaise Publique (RTS) and “hand-picked media”; the host of the Seneweb news website Ahmed Ndoye who criticised the appointment of Dakar Matin journalist Pape Alé Niang to the general management of RTS; and finally, the journalist Ndèye Fatou Ndiaye of SENTV. The journalists report cyber-harassment, caricatures and insults during livestreams on digital platforms.

Prison sentence for ‘spreading false news’ on the Prime Minister’s position on LGBTQI+

On 3rd June 2024, activist Bah Diakhate and religious leader Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndao were sentenced for spreading false news about the Prime Minister’s position on homosexuality. On 16th May 2024, the Prime Minister of Senegal, Ousmane Sonko, and the French politician Jean-Luc Melenchon, co-hosted a conference at the Université Cheikh-Anta-Diop (Ucad). During the conference, Sonko said that same-sex relationships were “not accepted, but tolerated” in Senegal.

Bah Diakhateand Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndao recorded a video of themselves criticising the Prime Minister’s position and the decision to offer the French politician a platform to promote homosexuality. A week later, the Senegalese police arrested both men. On 3rd June 2024, a court in Senegal found the two men guilty of ‘spreading false news’ and sentenced each of them to three months in prison. They were also fined 100,000 CFA francs (approximately 165 USD) each.