According to his attorney, Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has asked the International Criminal Court to conduct an investigation into allegations that President Macky Sall committed “crimes against humanity” in France.
On Thursday and Friday, Sall was in Paris for a symposium on global climate finance that President Emmanuel Macron had organised.
According to lawyer Juan Branco, Sonko claims that the tragic conflicts that took place after he was sentenced to prison this month are the most recent development in “a generalised and systematic attack on the civilian population” of Senegal from March 2021.
“It’s ridiculous,” Sall told newsmen when asked about the legal complaint in France on Thursday.
After an earlier outburst two years ago that left at least 12 dead, this month’s skirmishes over Sonko’s conviction for “corrupting” a teenage beauty salon worker are the worst Senegal has seen in years.
Amnesty International has recorded 23 fatalities, while the opposition has recorded 30, compared to the government’s 16 fatalities for the month of June.
Sall’s opposition has been enraged by his evasiveness on whether he may seek a third term, which they see as being against the constitution and following in the footsteps of other West African leaders in recent years. Sall was originally elected in 2012 and was re-elected in 2019.
Sonko won’t be able to run for president in 2024 as a result of his conviction
His criminal complaint has been filed with the Paris tribunal’s crimes against humanity unit.
Sall and Diome have “ordered and supervised the commission” of crimes “against unarmed demonstrators since March 2021”, including “murders, torture and forced disappearances”, it alleges.
Lawyer Branco said he had identified “the murders of 50 people” since March 2021. He was to hold a press conference on the legal actions later on Thursday.
Under French law, filing a criminal complaint almost automatically triggers an investigation by a magistrate into whether the allegations are credible, although the process can be drawn-out and rarely results in criminal charges.
Sonko’s separate request at the ICC in The Hague uses a provision that allows any person or group to ask for an investigation to be opened.
