The lawyer of the opponent Ousmane Sonko is actively sought in Senegal. The country has filed an international arrest warrant against Mr. Branco for “crimes and misdemeanours” in connection with the unrest that occurred in early June 2023 in Senegal.
The lawyer Juan Branco is no longer worried by the report of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the disclosure of the identity of officials of the French Embassy in Senegal. The case was closed without further action, announced Wednesday, August 2, the Paris prosecutor’s office requested by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Quai d’Orsay announced on July 13 that it had reported to the courts the publication by Juan Branco of the names of several State agents stationed in Senegal, as well as their telephone number, email addresses and service number. After analysis, the prosecutor’s office filed without further action this report, believing that “the offence of disclosing personal information that identifies or locates a person and exposes the person or property to a direct risk of harm that does not appear sufficiently serious”.
A request for investigation for «crimes against humanity»
Juan Branco, one of the lawyers of the Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko, filed a complaint in France and a request for investigation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Senegalese President Macky Sall for «crimes against humanity», after the worst turmoil in Senegal in years.
The lawyer had judged with AFP «scandalous that a French technical advisor remained with the Senegalese minister of the interior during all this period and participated in the organization of the repression» in Senegal. He also considered that the Quai d’Orsay’s report “[confirmed] that the information revealed [was] true”.
The two-year prison sentence of opponent Ousmane Sonko had caused serious unrest in Senegal, causing sixteen official deaths, at least thirty according to the opposition. Mr. Sonko is yelling at the plot to keep him out of the February 2024 presidential election, and his party estimates more than three hundred “political detainees”. The government refutes both accusations. The 49-year-old opponent was detained on Monday for various crimes including the call for insurrection and his party, Pastef, was dissolved by the authorities. Two people died in spontaneous demonstrations.
Mr. Branco participated Sunday in Dakar at a press conference of Mr. Sonko’s lawyers while Senegalese prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant against him on July 14.
