The ECOWAS Court has ordered Senegal to pay six million CFA Francs compensation to former Senegalese Minister of Sports, Lat Diop, for violating his right to freedom of movement.
Delivering judgment, the President of the Court, Ricardo Gonçalves, also ordered the Senegalese government to immediately lift all restrictions imposed on Diop’s movements.
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A statement from the court on Monday said the decision delivered on 9 May held that Senegal arbitrarily and unlawfully barred Mr Diop from travelling abroad. The court said the restriction breached both ECOWAS protocols and international human rights obligations.
It declared that Senegal violated Mr Diop’s right to freedom of movement, in breach of Article 12(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
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The regional court, in the case marked ECW/CCJ/APP/22/24, declared that the travel restriction placed on the former minister by the government of Senegal was “arbitrary and without legal foundation.”
Mr Diop had alleged in his submission before the court that he was barred from boarding an international flight on 28 August 2024, in spite of having completed all check-in formalities and receiving a boarding pass.
He had claimed that Senegalese police officers, acting on political orders, blocked his departure following an earlier public comment by the Prime Minister, which hinted at curbing his movement.
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Mr Diop had also supported his claims with evidence of his ECOWAS identity card, stamped passport, boarding pass, and media reports.
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He had further argued that the travel ban placed on him violated his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
However, in its defence filed in court, the Senegalese government denied imposing an official travel ban on Mr Diop. It described the former top government official’s claims as “speculative.”
The government had claimed that the former minister was under investigation for financial crimes, including embezzlement and money laundering, as of 26 September 2024, and was still holding a diplomatic passport after leaving office.
The three-member panel also comprised J Gberi-Bé Ouattara and Justice Edward Asante.
(NAN)
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