2023-08-06 20:38:09
The Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko, on hunger strike since his arrest after two years of standoff with power, was admitted to hospital emergencies on Sunday in Dakar, said collaborators and one of his lawyers. The Pastef, the party of Mr. Sonko dissolved by the authorities last Monday, announced its admission to the emergency room in a press release. Two spokespersons and one of Ousmane Sonko’s lawyers, Me Ciré Clédor Ly, confirmed, without commenting on his condition.
Arrested at the end of July
The Pastef said he held the authorities “responsible” for his health. The authorities have not commented on the subject. Sonko, 49, went on a hunger strike on July 30, two days after his arrest. Declared presidential candidate in February 2024, he has been waging a fierce showdown in power since 2021 and his questioning by the courts in a sex scandal which he denounces as a plot to eliminate him politically.
After several episodes of deadly popular protest and two successive convictions for defamation and “youth corruption”, he was imprisoned on Monday on various charges, including calling for insurrection, association of criminals in connection with a terrorist enterprise and threat to state security. The authorities announced the dissolution of his party the same day.
Application now unrealistic
Sonko’s presidential candidacy therefore seems unrealistic. His lawyers argue for their part that he remains eligible. In the case of mores in particular, they assure that, Sonko having refused to attend the trial and having been condemned in absentia, the texts stipulate that he must be retried now that he has been arrested.
Me Ciré Clédor Ly confirmed that Sonko had written to the courts from prison last week to signify that he did not accept his conviction, a necessary condition according to his lawyers for the judgment to be canceled and for a new trial to take place. The prosecutor Abdou Karim Diop had refuted the day after his arrest that it brought down the absentia.
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