AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

without food, water or exit visas; some took to
the streets to block roads in protest.
DEATH PENALTY
Courts continued to impose death sentences
for a range of crimes, including non-violent
drugs offences which, under international
law, should not incur the death penalty. Many
defendants were sentenced to death after
unfair trials by courts that convicted them
without adequately investigating their
allegations that their “confessions” were
coerced, including with torture.
On 2 January the authorities carried out 47
executions, reportedly 43 by beheading and
four by shooting, in 12 locations around
the country.
Those facing execution included juvenile
offenders, including four Shi’a men
sentenced to death for participating in
protests in 2012 when they were under 18.
SENEGAL
Republic of Senegal
Head of state: Macky Sall
Head of government: Mohammed Dionne
The authorities continued to restrict the
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and
expression. Prisons remained overcrowded.
Although several police officers were
convicted of unlawful killings, impunity
remained a concern. Men and women faced
arrest because of their real or perceived
sexual orientation. Despite efforts to reduce
the number of children begging on the
streets, impunity for child exploitation and
child abuse persisted.
BACKGROUND
In May the capital, Dakar, hosted the
Extraordinary African Chambers which
sentenced former Chadian President Hissène
Habré to life imprisonment after he was
found guilty of crimes against humanity, war
crimes and torture committed in Chad
between 1982 and 1990.
Amendments to the Constitution were
adopted following a referendum in March,
including one which reduced the presidential
mandate to five years.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
The authorities banned peaceful
demonstrations and arrested demonstrators.
In October, the security forces fired tear
gas to disperse a peaceful demonstration
organized by the opposition. The Prefect of
Dakar had justified a decision to impose an
alternative route on the march on the basis of
a 2011 decree banning all assemblies in
parts of the city centre.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Journalists and artists who expressed dissent,
including through their choice of clothing,
were subjected to intimidation, harassment
and arbitrary detention.
In February, Mamadou Mouth Bane,
journalist and President of the social
movement Jubanti, was detained for more
than 12 hours at the Police Department of
Criminal Investigation for comments deemed
“seditious” made on television in the run-up
to a constitutional referendum. He was later
released without charge.
In June, rapper Ramatoulaye Diallo, also
known as Déesse Major, was detained for
three days and charged with
“indecency” and “offending moral principles”
for her choice of clothing in videos posted on
social media. All charges were dropped and
she was released.
At least two people were detained in Dakar
for insulting religion.
COUNTER-TERROR AND SECURITY
The National Assembly adopted amendments
to the Criminal Code and the Code of
Criminal Procedure which could be used to
stifle dissent. The amendments provide
vague and broad definitions of terrorismrelated
offences, criminalize the production
and dissemination of “immoral material”
online and empower the authorities to restrict
access to “illicit content” online.
316 Amnesty International Report 2016/17