Senegal: Opposition activist charged for libelling President

20 Oct 11 | Africa, Index Index, minipost

An opposition activist is facing five years in prison for libelling President Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal. Malick Noel Seck, General Secretary for the Socialist Convergence Youth, a movement of the Senegalese Socialists Party, is facing three counts of libelling the head of state, contempt of court and issuing death threats, following his appearance in court last week. The prosecutor is said to have demanded a five-year prison term for Seck. The charges follow Seck’s petition in April to Senegal’s constitutional court not to accept the candidacy of President Wade for the 2012 elections.

Senegal: Journalist assaulted after lovechild accusations

13 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost

Senegalese journalist Najib Sagna has been attacked by four people after claiming that Coumba Gaye, the country’s Deputy Minister for Justice and Human Rights, had recently given birth to an illegitimate son, the result of an extramarital affair with a fellow government minister. Sagna, who identified two of his attackers as relatives of Gaye, was assaulted whilst working to work at Walf Grand Place, a privately-owned newspaper in Dakar.