The lawyer, Moussa Sarr, indicates that the 14 people, including the deputy Guy Marius Sagna, are still being held at the central police station in Dakar. The city prefect, Mor Talla Tine, confirms these arrests.
Two journalists arrested
One of those arrested also confirmed his arrest and that of the deputy. According to the lawyer, two journalists were also arrested before being immediately released. “They are arrested for participating in a prohibited demonstration. They left to individually file protest letters at the Tunisian Embassy“, says the lawyer.
The incident follows outrage over Tunisian President Kais Saied’s remarks against illegal immigration from sub-Saharan Africa. On February 21, the Tunisian president affirmed that the presence in Tunisia of “hordes“illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa was a source of”violence and crimes” and came under a “criminal enterprise” aiming to “change the demographic composition” from the country.
Those arrested on March 4 belong to various organizations that had called on their members to bring protest letters to the Tunisian embassy, after the Senegalese authorities banned a planned rally. “We (…) come by this letter to protest against the ongoing hunt for black Africans in Tunisia after the racist and hateful remarks of the Tunisian President“, says one of the letters from an activist. Hundreds of nationals of Guinea, Mali and Ivory Coast have been repatriated from Tunisia on planes sent by their governments.