The lawyer defends the interests of Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko and is accused of being responsible for “crimes and misdemeanors” in connection with the unrest in the country a month ago.
Senegalese justice announced Friday, July 14 the launch of an international arrest warrant against Juan Branco, French lawyer for Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko, for “crimes and misdemeanors” in connection with the unrest that occurred in early June in Senegal. “After receiving the compilation of statements, writings and posts” lawyer, “it was found elements which, obviously, are likely to engage its criminal responsibility”says a press release from the prosecution sent to AFP on Friday, announcing “the opening of a judicial investigation”. Besides, “an arrest warrant has been requested against him”adds the text.
Juan Branco announced on June 22 that he had filed a complaint in France and a request for an investigation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against Senegalese President Macky Sall for “crimes against humanity”, after the worst unrest that have known Senegal for years. These procedures also target the Senegalese Minister of the Interior, Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome, General Moussa Fall, commander of the Senegalese gendarmerie, as well as a hundred “other individuals”and relate to the period from “from March 2021 to June 2023”. The Senegalese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aïssata Tall Sall, described this legal action as “childish and ridiculous”.
The two-year prison sentence for Ousmane Sonko on June 1 caused serious unrest in Senegal, killing 16 officially and 30 according to the opposition. His arrest, following a complaint in a sex scandal, had helped trigger several days of riots in March 2021 which had left at least a dozen dead.
A report made by the Quai d’Orsay
On Friday evening, the collective of Ousmane Sonko’s lawyers “expressed with firmness [sa] strong indignation with regard to a drift of this nature against [son] brother Juan Branco”.
The day before, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced that it had made a report to the French judicial authorities after the revelation by Juan Branco, in “recent posts”the identity of officials of the French Embassy in Senegal, in connection with the unrest in Senegal.