May 24. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Senegalese Prosecutor’s Office has requested this Wednesday a ten-year prison sentence against the opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, in the framework of the case for alleged rape and death threats, a process that the mayor of the city of Ziguinchor (south) is boycotting after denouncing “judicial banditry” and the use of the courts to try to separate him from the presidential elections scheduled for 2024.
Tuesday’s hearing had to be adjourned for several hours after Sonko failed to appear in court and after the judge initially refused to adjourn the proceedings. Finally, the hearing has continued and the Prosecutor’s Office has requested the aforementioned sentence and five years in prison for “corruption of youth”.
Likewise, the Prosecutor’s Office has indicated that the opponent should be sentenced to another year in prison for death threats and the payment of 500,000 Central African francs (around 762 euros) to the plaintiff, Adji Sarr, as reported by the Senegalese state news agency , A.P.S. The judge has postponed the proceedings until June 1, when he could rule.
The case against Sonko for alleged rape was opened in March 2021, when the arrest of the opponent led to protests by his followers that resulted in 15 deaths and significant material damage. Demonstrations last week by supporters who gathered at his home to prevent his arrest left another three dead, including an officer killed in an accident by a police vehicle.
The opponent had demanded a series of conditions in order to appear before the court, located in the capital, Dakar, including that the security of his itinerary be guaranteed and that the barricades around his home in the city be removed. Sonko recently argued that his boycott of the proceedings was part of a “disobedience campaign” against the authorities, shortly before a court raised Sonko’s suspended sentence to six months for defaming tourism minister Mame Mbaye Niang.
The opposition has denounced on several occasions that the president of Senegal, Macky Sall, has plans to run for a third term. The Senegalese Constitution limits the total number of terms to two and an attempt to extend his stay in power could lead to instability, although the president has defended that it would be legal for him to appear at the polls, a point that he has not yet confirmed. .
