'People are holding their breath': Senegal opposition leader awaits verdict in rape case
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Firstly, if you could tell us when exactly we are expecting a verdict and what are we expecting when that verdict is handed down?
00:07 So I'm currently standing outside the tribunal here in Dhaka and we've not been given an exact time for when this verdict should drop.
00:20 But we have been told that it should be on Thursday morning. In other words in the next few hours.
00:27 Realistically, for many Senegalese people this verdict simply can't come soon enough.
00:32 The case itself, the rape case against Ousmane Sonko is
00:36 incredibly divisive and has been really at the root of many protests, some of them violent, going all the way back to
00:44 2021 when the allegations against him were first made.
00:48 But the the verdict itself should be coming as I said in not too long now.
00:56 Many people are simply holding their breath in anticipation.
00:59 And Sam, are the fears of further unrest then following those calls for mass protests?
01:05 Well, I've been speaking to various people outside of the tribunal today.
01:13 There's a heavy police presence not just in my immediate surroundings, but also throughout the city.
01:19 And when you speak to people on the street, there is some concern.
01:25 About potential unrest today.
01:27 Ousmane Sonko and his supporters have said from the beginning that they don't see this court as a legitimate court and they don't see the case as a legitimate case.
01:37 And so of course should a guilty verdict fall, it's unlikely that they would accept the decision of the judge.
01:43 Which is why we could potentially see some unrest later in the day and in coming days.
01:50 Realistically speaking, should Mr. Sonko be found guilty?
01:54 I think should Mr. Sonko evade a guilty sentence, it might be another story.
01:58 But there are certainly fears of disruption later today and in the coming days.
02:03 And Sam, as you say, that verdict could be coming in the next couple of hours.
02:08 That's our correspondent in Senegal, Sam Bradpice.