Aliou Sané
Aliou Sané is a human rights defender and an experienced journalist. He is a co-founder of the “Mouvement Y’en a marre” and campaigns for the right to freedom of expression and information, as well as the right to peaceful assembly and of association for the full enjoyment of civil and political rights in Senegal. The “Y en a marre” movement represents youth advocacy and protests against poor governance in Senegal.
Freedom of expression and the media is generally respected but journalists occasionally practice self-censorship, particularly in the government-controlled media. The adoption of a press code in June 2017 criminalizes press offences and provides for the confiscation of equipment and material and the closure of media outlets for threats to state security. It allows for restriction of access to online content deemed to be “contrary to morality”, to “degrade honour” or to be “patently unlawful”.
Although the Senegalese constitution allows for freedom of assembly, the government must authorise a protest or public assembly before it takes place. Requests for peaceful protests are often delayed in the authorisation process, or denied outright. In addition, when HRDs have tried to hold peaceful protests without government consent, excessive force has been used against them or they were prosecuted by the authorities.
