Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR) – The arrest of Bah Diakhate has ignited a flurry of reactions across social media, drawing the attention of human rights advocates. Madiambal Diagne, CEO of Avenir Communications Media Group, and Seydi Gassama, Executive Director of Amnesty International/Senegal, have weighed in on the situation, highlighting the serious interest building around Diakhate’s comments against the Prime Minister.

“Bah Diakhate arrested! Too early to make martyrs! He certainly did not say a quarter of what Ousmane Sonko said about Macky Sall who was President of the Republic and protected by his office. Moreover, the offense against the Prime Minister does not yet exist in the Senegalese Penal Code,” posted Madiambal Diagne on X.

This prompted a response from Seydi Gassama: “My dear Madiambal, when your friend Macky Sall imprisoned young people for less than that, you said nothing. Yes, the new regime must not fall into this trap which made Macky Sall unpopular and hated by the vast majority of Senegalese.”

Madiambal retorted: “It’s not that I didn’t say anything. I applauded the imprisonment of the thugs, the insulters, and those calling for a coup d’état, but at the same time, I freed the rare prisoners of conscience. No doubt you weren’t following me, my dear Gassama.”

Earlier in the day, Seydi Gassama addressed the issue on RFM, stating, “We listened to the comments he made against the Prime Minister which are serious and can be considered defamatory. But our position as a human rights organization regarding these offenses has not changed. This position is based on international law and the decisions rendered by regional and sub-regional courts, such as the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which call for the decriminalization of prison sentences for offenses related to defamation and public insults.”

Gassama’s remarks then came with a call to action for the new authorities in Senegal to break from past practices and align with international human rights standards. “We demand that these offenses be decriminalized and that Bah Diakhate be released,” he asserted.

The case of Bah Diakhate has spotlighted the broader and recurrent debate in Senegal on the criminalization of defamation and public insults, with human rights organizations advocating for legal reforms to protect freedom of expression and ensure that civil rather than criminal penalties are applied in such cases.