By Babacar Dione, DAKAR
Senegal
Senegal opposition leader
Ousmane Sonko was convicted Thursday of corrupting youth but acquitted on
charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death
threats against her.A riot police officer shots tear gas at demonstrators during a protest at the Cheikh Anta Diop University campus in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, June 1, 2023.
The court sentenced Sonko to
two years in prison. He did not attend his
trial in the capital, Dakar, and was judged in absentia. His lawyer
said a warrant had not been issued yet for the politician’s arrest.
“With this verdict, the
authorities want to prevent him from standing in the next presidential
election,” lawyer Cire Cledor Ly said.
Sonko placed third in
Senegal’s 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country’s youth.
His supporters maintain his legal troubles are part of a
government effort to derail his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
Sonko is considered President
Macky Sall’s main competition and has urged Sall to state publicly that he will
not seek a third term in office.
Corrupting young people, which
includes using one’s position of power to have sex with people under age 21, is
a criminal offense in Senegal that is punishable by up to five years in prison
and a fine of up to more than $6,000.
Under Senegalese law, his conviction would bar Sonko from running in next year’s election, said Bamba Cisse, another defense lawyer.
“The conviction for corruption
of youth hinders his eligibility because he was sentenced in absentia, so we
can’t appeal,” Cisse said.
However, the government said
Sonko can ask for a retrial once he is imprisoned. It was unclear when he would
be taken into custody.
Tensions
were rising across the country before Sonko’s conviction and
sentencing. Tight security surrounded the court as well as Sonko’s house on
Thursday, and many businesses closed for fear of violence.
Shortly after the verdict was
announced, clashes erupted throughout the country. At least one person was
killed in the Casamance region, according to the government. In Dakar,
protesters threw rocks, burned vehicles and in some places erected barricades
while police fired tear gas.
“The verdict cements the
criticism that Sall’s government is weaponizing the judiciary to eliminate
prominent rivals that could shake his rule,” Mucahid Durmaz, senior analyst at
global risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said.
“Despite being presented as a
beacon (of) democracy, the Sonko cases demonstrate the structural issues
Senegal grapples with. The court decision and the prospect of Sall’s bid for a
third term in the election next year will fuel fierce criticism around erosion
of judicial independence and democratic backsliding,” Dumaz said.
Earlier demonstrations turned
violent in the leadup to the trial. At least one
person was killed and several injured during a “freedom caravan”
orchestrated by Sonko last week from his hometown of Ziguinchor, where he is
the mayor, to the capital some 750 kilometers (465 miles) away.
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