A court in Senegal has sentenced three TikTok influencers to prison for allegedly insulting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in a ruling that has drawn criticism from free speech advocates.
According to Reuters, the three influencers are affiliated with Feenal Digital, an online communications platform that produces content that some observers consider sympathetic to former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and his PASTEF political movement.
The case comes amid growing political tensions between President Faye and Sonko, who were previously political allies before their relationship deteriorated. Sonko recently split from Faye and launched a new political party.
Feenal Digital describes itself on Facebook as a platform focused on promoting government and private-sector activities.
The court sentenced Mandoumbe Diop, popularly known as Lamignou Darou, to three months in prison without suspension.
Diop is the most prominent of the three influencers, with more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, where his videos reportedly attract tens of thousands of views.
The two other influencers, Magueye Diaw, known as Oustaz Thiep, and Moustapha Ndiaye, known as Ndiaye Touba, were each sentenced to two months in prison without parole, according to a statement shared by Feenal Digital on Facebook.
Their lawyer, Abdy Nar Ndiaye, defended the content that led to the prosecution, describing the TikTok posts as “comical” and arguing that they did not warrant criminal prosecution.
Diaw and Ndiaye were also ordered to pay fines of 500,000 CFA francs each, equivalent to about $800.
The convictions have intensified debate over freedom of expression in Senegal, with critics warning that the use of criminal penalties against social media personalities could discourage online commentary and create a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
The case also comes at a sensitive time for Senegal’s political landscape, as tensions between President Faye and his former ally Sonko continue to attract public attention…..see more