Published on : 18/05/2022 – 14:58
The mayor of Dakar is being prosecuted in a murder case dating back to 2011. The shooting death of a sympathizer of the Senegalese Democratic Darti (PDS), Ndiaga Diouf. This extension comes in a pre-election political context with legislative elections scheduled for July 31, 2022.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac
Barthélémy Dias was not present at the Dakar courthouse this Wednesday morning. On the other hand, as at each hearing, the former mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, was there, in the front row, in a white boubou.
In fact, at the time the new date was announced, Barthélémy Dias was on his way to court, in a convoy, with forces sirens, horns and with Ousmane Sonko, the leader of the opposition coalition Yewwi Askan Wi. The ride was filmed and broadcast live on social media.
Ousmane Sonko called on activists on Tuesday evening to mobilize in support the mayor of Dakar « who will remain so, against all odds “, he said. This raised fears of the risk of tension, because the stakes are high for Barthélémy Dias.
During the trial in early March, the prosecutor had requested five years in prison against him. Barthélémy Dias has already been sentenced “for mortal blows” in that case. In 2017, he was sentenced to two years in prison, including six months firm, but he had appealed, for ” clear one’s honor “, according to him.
During the trial, the new mayor of Dakar had denounced a “political” procedure. His lawyers pleaded “self-defence”. For one of them, Me Ousseynou Fall, the extension of the deliberation to September 21 allows ” to appease ” the spirits ” in troubled times “, he said, before the legislative elections.