DAKAR, Senegal
The rape trial of Senegal’s
main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko that was due to open on Tuesday in the
capital has been postponed until May 23.
The delay came after 24 hours
of unrest linked to the case against the prominent politician in the West
African nation in which the interior ministry says three people died, including
a police officer killed by a reversing armored car.
Police and Sonko’s supporters
clashed Monday in the southern city of Ziguinchor where youths threw stones and
used tree trunks to barricade streets leading to Sonko’s house.
In the capital, Dakar, around
20 buses were burned in the unrest, which saw protesters hurled stones and
firebombs at police, with security forces responding with tear gas.
The judge of the criminal
chamber of the Dakar high court postponed Sonko’s trial to give lawyers for key
witnesses time to go over the court files.
Sonko was charged based on a
woman’s accusations that he raped her in 2021 when she worked at a massage
salon.
If convicted, Sonko faces up
to 10 years in prison and would be barred from running for president.
Sonko recently received a
six-month suspended prison sentence in a defamation case, which could also
block a 2024 run for the presidency unless he can successfully appeal the
conviction.
There was a heavy presence of
security forces around Dakar on Tuesday, and the streets were calm after
Monday’s unrest.
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