MPs call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs to ask for his release

Two Nupes deputies question Catherine Colonna on the incarceration of a French woman in Senegal, in an open letter, consulted Friday by franceinfo.

Nupes deputies Aurélien Taché (Ecologists) and Sophia Chikirou (LFI), challenge the Minister of Foreign Affairs in an open letter, consulted on Friday December 15, by franceinfo, to request the release of Coline Fay, in Senegal. This 26-year-old French woman, who has lived there for a year, was imprisoned in November for “conspiracy against state authority” while she participated in a demonstration in Dakar.

The two parliamentarians, as well as Coline Fay’s lawyer, Juan Branco, express concern in this letter about an “alarming situation” for the young woman. “In a desperate act of protest against the conditions of her detention and the injustice of her situation, Madame Fay began a hunger strike, which she courageously sustained for twelve days”they write, which “underlines the seriousness of his situation and demonstrates the need for rapid and resolute intervention on our part.” However, they depict a woman whose “the commitment to ecology testifies to his pacifism and his dedication to causes, far from any violence or subversive intention”.

“Context of authoritarian excesses”

The three signatories then denounce a “context of authoritarian excesses exercised by the Dakar regime, under the presidency of Macky Sall, towards dissident voices and popular movements”. Coline Fay was arrested during a demonstration in support of Ousmane Sonko, the president’s main political opponent. This “climate of political tension”deplore the deputies and the lawyer, “is likely to arouse deep concern regarding respect for freedoms and human rights in the country.”

They address the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, and ask, “faced with this worrying situation“, her “urgent intervention to ensure the release of Madame Fay and the protection of her fundamental rights”.