Gambiaj.com – (DAKAR, Senegal) – Dakar’s flagrante delicto court on Wednesday handed down suspended prison sentences to two French Navy soldiers following a highly publicized trial that nearly sparked a diplomatic incident between Senegal and France.

The case involved four sailors from the French patrol boat Le Vendose, D. Salvia, P. Legoff, D. Soham, and D. Sorha, who were in Dakar as part of a coastal surveillance mission against drug trafficking.

The men appeared in court dressed in their formal uniforms of white long-sleeved shirts and black trousers, facing charges ranging from possession and use of Indian hemp to rebellion, insulting a police officer, and assault.

The charges stemmed from a nighttime altercation on September 17 near the Dakar port. According to police officer A. Diop, who led a patrol that evening, one of the French soldiers, P. Legoff, was allegedly seen discarding a cannabis joint.

When the Senegalese police officers attempted to arrest him, the other sailors reportedly intervened, claiming the plainclothes agents were not real police officers.

A scuffle ensued during which Diop’s uniform was torn and his mouth injured. He also alleged that D. Salvia offered him 100,000 CFA francs for the group’s release.

All four men denied the charges in court, except for D. Salvia, who admitted to offering the bribe. Their defense lawyers, including Ousseynou Babou from the Paris Bar and several prominent members of the Dakar Bar, argued that the sailors had mistaken the plainclothes officers for attackers.

The defense also stressed that the soldiers were on an official anti-trafficking mission and were heading to a restaurant, not a nightclub, as alleged.

The public prosecutor dropped some of the initial accusations, noting that only one defendant was found with cannabis but maintaining charges of violent rebellion during arrest. He sought an acquittal for D. Sorha, six months, three suspended, for D. Salvia, and one month suspended for P. Legoff and D. Soham.

In its verdict, the court acquitted D. Soham and D. Sorha of all charges but convicted D. Salvia and P. Legoff of rebellion against an officer, sentencing each to one month in prison, suspended.

The trial attracted significant public attention and a strong presence of Senegalese soldiers in the courtroom, underscoring its diplomatic sensitivity.