On August 20, 2025, journalist Doudou Coulibaly, and Programme Director of Dakar Municipal Radio (RMD), was summoned by the Special Division for the Fight against Cybercrime (DSC) following a referral from the public prosecutor.
He was questioned over remarks he made about Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s visit to Türkiye and his relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and was subsequently placed in police custody. In his comments, the journalist allegedly likened the meeting between the two leaders to one between “underworld figures.”
Five days later, on August 25, the Court of Misdemeanors in Dakar found Coulibaly guilty of insulting a foreign head of state but acquitted him of the charge of insulting a person exercising all or part of the prerogatives of the President of the Republic. He was handed a three-month suspended sentence and fined CFA 300,000 (USD 540) before being released.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) welcomes Coulibaly’s release while urging the Senegalese authorities to avoid exploiting laws on insult and defamation to target critical voices. At the same time, the MFWA calls for greater responsibility and decorum in public discourse in Senegal and across West Africa to promote a culture of tolerance and mutual respect.
