2023-08-08 10:48:00
He had been imprisoned in Senegal as a lawyer for an opponent of the regime. A petition calling for his release had collected nearly 20,000 signatures.
By BL with AFP An international arrest warrant had been issued against the Franco-Spanish lawyer by the Senegalese courts. © MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP Published on 08/08/2023 at 10:48
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Back on French soil. Expelled Monday from Senegal, the Franco-Spanish lawyer Juan Branco arrived Tuesday, August 8 at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport. He had been arrested a few days earlier in Mauritania and imprisoned in Senegal as a defender of opponent Ousmane Sonko. Arrived shortly before 9 a.m., he was greeted by members of his family and some supporters, AFP journalists noted.
The lawyer raised his fist, but did not speak to the press. He got into a taxi as soon as he left the airport.
READ ALSO“We must save Juan Branco from this prison hell”
Targeted since mid-July by an investigation by the Senegalese justice, Mr. Branco had been arrested on Sunday in Mauritania, after several days of research. Handed over to the Senegalese authorities, who accuse him of having entered the territory irregularly, he was charged on Sunday with attack, conspiracy, dissemination of false news and acts and maneuvers likely to compromise public security or cause serious political unrest, according to his lawyers.
A “political persecution”
In Senegal, the Franco-Spanish lawyer takes part in the defense of Ousmane Sonko, a Senegalese opponent engaged since 2021 in a showdown with power and justice which has given rise to several episodes of deadly violence. He had particularly attracted attention by announcing a complaint in France in June and asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to open an investigation against President Macky Sall for “crimes against humanity”, while the country had just experienced its worst turmoil in years.
“No lawyer should be hindered in his mission, wherever he is and whoever he is,” wrote on X (ex-Twitter) the president of Paris, Julie Couturier. The leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, had denounced the arrest of Mr. Branco, writing: “An accused has the right to defence. The authoritarian drift of power has no more restraint” in Senegal.
With @vincent_niorewe recall the sanctity of the rights of the #Defense. No lawyer should be hindered in his mission, wherever he is and whoever he is. The situation of our colleague, Juan Branco, imprisoned in Senegal worries us. We are actively working to…
— Batonniere of Paris (@batonnierparis) August 6, 2023
A petition on Change.org demanding his “immediate release” had garnered more than 19,000 signatures in two days. This text argued that he should “be free to exercise defense in his words and movements” and evoked a “political persecution”. Familiar with high-profile controversies, Juan Branco had had a bookstore success in France with a pamphlet hostile to President Emmanuel Macron, Dusk.
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