Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been on hunger strike since he was arrested after a two-year standoff with the government. Aides and one of his lawyers said he was admitted to a hospital emergency on Sunday in Dakar.
Pastef, Mr Sonko’s party, which was dissolved by the authorities on Monday, announced his admission to emergency in a statement. Two spokespersons and one of Mr Sonko’s lawyers, Ciré Clédor Ly, confirmed this, without commenting on his condition.
Pastef said it held the authorities “responsible” for his health.
The authorities have not commented on the matter.
Mr Sonko, 49, went on hunger strike on 30 July, two days after his arrest.
A declared presidential candidate in February 2024, he has been waging a fierce battle with the authorities since 2021, when the courts implicated him in a sex scandal that he denounces as a plot to eliminate him politically.
After several episodes of deadly popular protest and two successive convictions for defamation and “corruption of youth”, he was imprisoned on Monday on various charges, including calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist undertaking and undermining state security. The authorities announced the dissolution of his party on the same day.
SONKO’s Lawyer Arrested
In another development, Juan Branco, the lawyer to Ousmane Sonko was also arrested last weekend after several days of cat-and-mouse games with the authorities.
This was confirmed by the Senegalese Interior minister who said that the Franco- Spanish lawyer was in the hands of an elite police unit.
Several local reports say Branco was arrested as he was sneaking out of Senegal towards Mauritania.
A source close to the case also reported his arrest on the Mauritanian side, but the lawyer’s situation remained unclear by mid-afternoon Saturday.
Branco has made a name for himself in Senegal by taking part in the defence of Ousmane Sonko, since 2021 in a tug-of-war with the authorities and the judiciary.
The Senegalese prosecutor’s office announced on July 14 that it had opened a judicial investigation and requested an arrest warrant against the lawyer, based on his writings and statements.
