Alioune Tine

On 30 January 2012, human rights defender Mr Alioune Tine was released having spent approximately 48 hours in police custody.

Alioune Tine is the Secretary-General of Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO), a Senegalese NGO based in Dakar, which works in the defence of human rights.

He is also the co-ordinator of the Mouvement du 23 Juin – M23 (Movement of 23 June), a coalition comprised of civil society organisations and some political parties, founded in 2011 with the aim of ensuring full respect for the Constitution of Senegal, which provides a limit of two presidential terms for the same candidate.

On 28 January 2012, at approximatively 5 pm, Alioune Tine was arrested at his home by representatives of the Criminal Investigation Divisions. He was brought to the police station, reportedly without any arrest warrant or official summons. He was interrogated for several hours in relation to a demonstration organised by the M23, which had taken place the previous day, 27 January, and which was followed by violence after riot police were deployed.

The demonstration was part of a series of protest actions against the possibility that the incumbent President may stand for a third presidential term during the elections scheduled for 26 February 2012. On the day of the demonstration, the Constitutional Council had ruled that the President could run for another term and approved the candidacy of 13 other presidential candidates while it rejected two others. The aim of the demonstration was to protest against the decision of the Constitutional Council, which is considered to be biased.

One of the eliminated candidates, Youssou Ndour, an international musician, was reportedly prevented by the police from visiting Alioune Tine while he remained in detention.

Other demonstrations were dispersed by police over the following days.

In the past, Alioue Tine suffered reprisals due to his work in defence of human rights. On 23 June 2011, Alioune Tine was attacked by militants from the ruling party, the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais (PDS), during a gathering in front of the National Assembly, and was hospitalised as a result of the injuries he sustained. On 10 October 2011, the President of the Republic reportedly stated to the media that Alioune Tine and RADDHO were calling for “violence and uprising”, and that he would bring them to justice if he did not stop “calling people to demonstrate violently”.

Front Line Defenders is concerned at the detention of Alioune Tine and fears that it is solely related to his legitimate work with RADDHO and the Movement of 23 June.