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Senegal on Friday launched judicial hearings into crimes committed during the deadly political unrest that occurred under the country’s previous administration, according to the head of a victims’ group who spoke to AFP.
The proceedings mark the beginning of a long-awaited judicial process aimed at uncovering the truth behind the violent clashes that took place over a four-year period. According to a report released earlier this year by a coalition of journalists and scientists, at least 65 people — mostly young — were killed between March 2021 and February 2024 during opposition-led demonstrations.
The protests were met with a heavy-handed response from security forces, resulting in numerous injuries and mass arrests. However, officials under the current administration — led by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, a prominent critic of Sall — have put the death toll at more than 80.
A representative from the Zero Impunity Initiative (IZI) told AFP that the testimony of one alleged victim, Pape Abdoulaye Toure, “is over, it lasted for four hours.” On Thursday, IZI and another justice movement, Senegal Our Priority (SNP), announced in a joint statement that investigators had summoned one of their members, also described as a torture victim, to appear on Friday.
The Ministry of Justice had earlier confirmed, at the end of August, that an official investigation into the violent incidents had been launched.
In recent months, the new administration has come under mounting pressure from victims’ families and supporters within its own ranks, who argue that the pursuit of justice has been moving too slowly.
On 30 August, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Dakar to demand accountability for those killed and injured during the unrest.
