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A Senegalese court has sentenced three TikTok influencers to prison terms and fined them for allegedly insulting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a decision that has sparked concerns among free speech advocates in the West African nation.
The three men, who work with online communications platform Feenal Digital, were convicted after being accused of making offensive remarks about the president through their TikTok content.
Mandoumbe Diop, popularly known as Lamignou Darou, received a three-month prison sentence without suspension. He is considered the most prominent among the three, with more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, where his videos often attract thousands of views.
Two other influencers, Magueye Diaw, known as Oustaz Thiep, and Moustapha Ndiaye, popularly called Ndiaye Touba, were each sentenced to two months in prison without parole. They were also fined 500,000 CFA francs each.
Their lawyer, Abdy Nar Ndiaye, argued that the posts were meant for entertainment and did not warrant criminal prosecution. He described the content as humorous and maintained that his clients did not commit any offence requiring imprisonment.
The case has attracted criticism from some observers who say the sentences raise concerns about freedom of expression and the treatment of online commentary in Senegal.
Feenal Digital and the Senegalese government have not immediately issued official comments on the matter.
Source : Citinews