Dakar, July 7, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Senegalese authorities to immediately release news commentator Bachir Fofana after a judge ordered on July 2 that Fofana remain in detention until July 9, pending the continuation of his trial. Fofana is charged with publishing false news about the recipient of a vehicle purchase contract for the National Assembly. The government has a recent history of prosecuting journalists for spreading false news.
On June 25, the Senegalese special cybersecurity division took Fofana into custody, according to his lawyer, Aboubacry Barro, and news reports. Barro told local media that Fofana is being prosecuted over allegations the journalist made on TV news programs about the allocation of the National Assembly contract. Fofana said the beneficiary of the contract was a businessman involved in a corruption case related to a former minister. During the trial, which began on July 2, the prosecutor requested a three-month prison sentence and a fine of 200,000 CFA francs (US$359).
The offense of spreading false news is punishable by a prison sentence of up to three years and a fine of 1,500,000 CFA francs (US$2,680).
“It is alarming that the Senegalese state is once again resorting to the criminalization of journalism,” said Moussa Ngom, CPJ’s Francophone Africa representative. Fofana is the second commentator to have been detained in the past three months on false news charges, with Abdou Nguer having been taken into custody in April. “Senegalese authorities must release both journalists immediately and ensure that media professionals do not have to fear reprisals for their work.”
CPJ has previously called for the release and the dropping of charges against Nguer, who has been held since April 14, pending a judicial investigation into whether he spread false news about the death of a local official. New charges of causing offense to the head of state and undermining the functioning of public institutions were added on May 20.
CPJ’s calls to Senegal’s ministry of justice and to Malick Ndiaye, president of the National Assembly, went unanswered.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
Committee to Protect Journalists | Radio Free (2025-07-07T21:25:38+00:00) Senegalese commentator detained under ‘false news’ claims. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/07/07/senegalese-commentator-detained-under-false-news-claims/
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