A court in Senegal has handed prison terms to three TikTok influencers after finding them guilty of insulting President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, according to their lawyer.
The ruling was announced Wednesday, Aug 6. Mandoumbe Diop, who posts as Lamignou Darou and has more than 500,000 followers, received three months in prison with no suspended sentence. Two other creators from the same outlet, Magueye Diaw known as Oustaz Thiep and Moustapha Ndiaye known as Ndiaye Touba, each got two months with no parole plus a fine of 500,000 CFA, about $800.
All three work for Feenal Digital, an online channel that shares news about government and business activities. The outlet is known for content supportive of former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who leads the PASTEF party. Sonko and President Faye, once political allies, split recently after Faye launched his own party last month.
Their lawyer, Abdy Nar Ndiaye, told followers in a Facebook video that the TikTok posts were meant to be comical and did not deserve criminal charges. Critics called the sentences a blow to free speech in Senegal.
Feenal Digital and a government spokesperson had not commented by the time of publication.
