2023-09-16 15:04:24
Dakar, Sep 16 (EFE).- The lawyers of the Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have presented a request to the Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to obtain his release and participation in the presidential elections next February. one of his lawyers reported today.
“With my very honorable colleagues, we continue the offensive, this time in Abuja, to obtain the release and participation of Ousmane Sonko in the February 2024 elections,” said Franco-Spanish lawyer Juan Branco on his social network account X ( formerly Twitter).
Branco accompanied his message with a photo of Sonko’s application against the Republic of Senegal sent to the court, based in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, which also includes lawyers Ciré Clédor Ly and Said Larifou.
The message was spread after the opposition leader suspended on day 2 the hunger strike that began on July 30 to protest against his arrest, after he had to be hospitalized in an intensive care unit on August 17 due to deterioration. of your health.
Sonko is in preventive detention and the Senegalese authorities accuse him, among other charges, of having called for insurrection, attacking state security and criminal association with a terrorist company.
After his arrest, altercations broke out in Dakar and other cities in the country between police forces and young people, leaving at least two dead.
Previously, the popular opponent had denounced the “instrumentalization” of justice by the Senegalese president, Macky Sall, to prevent him from attending the 2024 elections.
Known for his “anti-establishment” speech, Sonko criticizes bad governance, corruption and French neocolonialism and has a large following among the country’s youth. EFE
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