Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Accra-based sub-regional rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) Thursday urged Senegalese Police to respect students’ right to demonstrate.
”We also urge students to act within the law whenever they choose to exercise their right to demonstrate,” MFWA added.
According to the statement, Bassirou Faye, a Senegalese student of the Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (UCAD), was on August 14, shot dead by an unidentified policeman during a student demonstration.
The students had demonstrated to press their demand for payment of scholarship arrears for the 2013-2014 academic year.
But, after the police dispersed the demonstrators by firing tear gas, some of the students fled to their halls of residence and started throwing stones through windows.
Angered by the students’ action, the police stormed the building, broke down doors and ransacked the rooms.
Faye, who, according to reports, did not take part in the demonstration, was in his room by then and tried to escape with his roommate.
”While they were leaving, however, a policeman shot Faye in the head. He died before his roommate could get help,” the statement added.
The police arrested about 27 of the students after the incident and detained them until their release on August 18.
According to MFWA, Senegalese’s President Macky Sall visited the country’s Principal Hospital in Dakar where the injured students were on admission on August 18.
Meanwhile, Senegalese authorities, including the Ministries of the Interior and Higher Education, reportedly said that the Criminal Investigations Department has been tasked to conduct an investigation into the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Photo: Pulse
