A court in Senegal has sent three TikTok influencers to prison over posts that allegedly insulted President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
The decision has sparked criticism from people who say it’s a sign of shrinking free speech in the country.
The three influencers work for an online platform, Feenal Digital. Some people say the platform tends to support former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who leads the PASTEF party.
The case comes at a tense time in Senegalese politics. President Faye and Sonko used to be close allies, but they’ve had a public falling out. Faye recently started his own political party, which has widened the gap between the two men.
Who got sentenced?
The toughest sentence went to Mandoumbe Diop, who goes by Lamignou Darou online. He got three months in prison, with no chance of early release.
Diop is the biggest name of the three, he has over 500,000 followers on TikTok, and his videos usually get tens of thousands of views.
The other two, Magueye Diaw (known as Oustaz Thiep) and Moustapha Ndiaye (known as Ndiaye Touba), were each sentenced to two months in prison, also with no early release.
They were also fined 500,000 CFA francs each, about $800, according to their lawyer.
Their lawyer, Abdy Nar Ndiaye, said the videos were meant to be funny and shouldn’t have led to criminal charges.
The platform they work for, Feenal Digital, says on Facebook that its goal is to promote government and business activities.
All this comes as Senegal’s political scene goes through a rough patch. President Faye and Sonko were once a strong team, but their split has caused real cracks within the ruling party.