A new Senegal law signed in April doubled penalties for homosexual acts from five to 10 years and added prison sentences for people who promote or finance homosexuality. Authorities accelerated arrests after February, detaining more than 100 individuals on allegations of “acts against nature.” At least 80 people remained in detention on homosexuality charges. The crackdown expanded to public figures, including a TV and radio presenter and a musician arrested in February. In April, a government associate linked to a suspected homosexual ring was arrested, and a religious singer was taken into custody after fleeing Touba. A health official was also arrested at Dakar’s international airport while attempting to leave the country, and he reportedly tried to commit suicide during custody.
"The crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community in Senegal, West Africa picked up speed following a new law signed by the country's president in April, which doubles the penalties for homosexual acts from five to 10 years, and imposes prison sentences on individuals who "promote" or "finance" homosexuality."
"Authorities in the West African nation have arrested more than 100 individuals on allegations of "acts against nature" since February, a sweep that began in earnest when Pape Cheikh Diallo, a widely admired TV and radio presenter, and Djiby Dramé, a popular musician, were among 12 men taken into custody. At least 80 people are currently in detention on homosexuality charges, reports."
"In April, the witch hunt reached into the upper echelons of government with the arrest of Matar Ndiaga Seck, a close associate of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. Seck was linked through "concordant evidence" to 22 individuals implicated in an alleged homosexual ring in central Senegal's Djoloff region."
"Popular Muslim religious singer Ass Dione was targeted in an investigation conducted by the Senegalese National Gendarmerie in early April and taken into custody on charges of "unnatural acts." Plainclothes officers tracked Dione down in Dakar after he fled the holy city of Touba in central Senegal. His arrest reportedly sparked "surprise and outrage" in Senegal's overtly anti-LGBTQ+ media."
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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