Opponents of ECOWAS-EU trade deal arrested in Dakar

Peaceful Assembly

In early June, authorities  arrested five protesters belonging to a coalition opposing the signing of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union. 'NO TO EPAs' coalition members Guy Marius Sagna, Mohamed Lo Bara, Arona Manga, Aliou Balinghore Sane and Daouda Diop were released after spending three days in custody. Their detention was designed to ensure that they would not disrupt the ECOWAS Summit being held in Dakar.

On 8th June, teachers group CEEP organised a boycott of exam supervision because of the state's refusal to release ten million CFA Francs for the training of contractual teachers from the faculty of philosophy. This protest is part of a broader campaign of action by teachers designed to force the state to honour an agreement on pay and conditions signed in February 2014. In another recent protest, workers at the Society of Industrial Electrical Equipment organised a sit-in demanding the resignation of a senior official because they had not been paid for seven months. There were no reports of disruptions to either of these protests.

Expression

In June, the singer Goddess Major was arrested for indecency and an 'assault on morals' following a complaint by the Comité pour la défense des valeurs morales au Sénégal (CDVM). CDVM had filed a complaint against the rapper who was shown in a dress described as extravagant and injurious to morals in a video posted on social media platform Snapchat. The Public Prosecutor at the Court of First Instance of Dakar subsequently sent the police a notification to proceed with prosecution. 

Sénégal : cachez ce corps de Déesse Major que je ne saurais voir ! https://t.co/AmekzjRPQj https://t.co/cmatwgOuxC

— سُبْحة - Soubha (@soubha_info) June 22, 2016