Police assault female journalist while covering demonstrations in Dakar, Senegal

Fatou Diop was physically assaulted in the Senegalese capital Dakar by police officers while covering a demonstration by the Collective for the Release of Political Prisoners (Collectif pour la libération des prisonniers politiques – COLIDEP) on November 5, 2022. The group was holding a series of demonstrations for the release of political prisoners. Fatou Diop was rushed to the hospital for treatment after she was violently pushed by police officers and lost consciousness. The police, who were already in Dakar’s Place de l’indépendance (Independence Square), became more violent when arresting the demonstrators. The journalist expressed her indignation in a post on her Facebook page after her condition stabilised. “It is with tears in my eyes that I write these words to denounce with the utmost energy attacks on journalists. Today we are witnessing police blunders and arrests of journalists in the line of duty. On Saturday, November 5, I was attacked at the Independence Square by the police. This incident will not go unpunished,” she published on November 7, 2022.