FSRN In Senegal Police Arrest Opposition Figures as Elections Near
Channel: Reddebrek
Date: 01/01/2012

In Senegal, a leading opposition figure has been arrested on murder charges following a deadly clash at a political rally. Barthelemy Dias is a youth party leader and a district mayor in Dakar. The incident comes as civil rights groups and political opposition leaders have been targeted with violence in the lead up to a Presidential election in February 2012. One of those who has been threatened and attacked is Alioune Tine, head of the group African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights. In an interview with FSRN he said his criticism of the government has put his life in danger. Last June he was hospitalized after being beaten by men associated with the ruling party in an attack that groups, including Human Rights Watch, condemned. He described another recent attack on activists in the country.

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