The United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, has raised serious concerns over severe overcrowding in Senegalese prisons, warning that it could trigger violence, riots, or disease outbreaks at any moment.
Following a fact-finding mission to Senegal, Edwards described the conditions as “dramatic and inhumane,” urging the government to take bolder steps to meet international detention standards.
Edwards visited five prisons, where she found inmates sleeping in shifts, crammed into congested spaces, and sharing mattresses. Some slept in corridors due to lack of space, while sanitation facilities were woefully inadequate.
Edwards welcomed government efforts to introduce electronic tagging and build new prison facilities but stressed that these measures alone would not solve the crisis.
She also criticised an amnesty law, introduced before Senegal’s March 2024 elections under former President Macky Sall, which pardoned individuals involved in political violence between 2021 and 2024—a period that saw 79 deaths, according to official figures.
In response, Senegal’s government announced plans to repeal the amnesty law, with a bill set to be presented in parliament.
