Senegalese journalist Pape Alé Niang detained after reporting on politician’s rape charges

Dakar, November 7, 2022 — In response to news reports that Pape Alé Niang, an investigative journalist for the privately owned website Dakarmatin, was arrested Sunday in the capital Dakar after police accused him of breaching professional secrecy and publishing information likely to harm national defense and public security, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for his immediate release:

“Senegalese authorities must immediately release Dakarmatin investigative journalist Pape Alé Niang and ensure that the media can report on matters of public interest without running the risk of arbitrary detention,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator in Durban, South Africa. “Instead of censoring the press by targeting journalists for their work, authorities should decriminalize press offenses.”

On November 3, Dakarmatin published a video in which Niang reported on the contents of an internal gendarmerie report that purportedly exonerated Ousmane Sonko, an opposition leader and 2024 presidential candidate charged with rape.