Dakar – Senegalese authorities should end the persecution of journalist Rene Ka Ka Ka Basene, whose May 3 decision was upheld for a lifetime sentence by the Senegal Supreme Court, the committee protecting journalists said on Wednesday.
“René Cape Bassène’s life sentence is deeply concerned, despite all the flaws in the investigation that led to his incarceration and the abuse he suffered behind bars,” said Moussa Ngom, president of French-speaking Africa at the CPJ. “The Senegalese authorities must implement all measures to clarify the current conditions of rene capan Basene’s detention and ensure his release.”
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Basene was moved overnight to Senegal’s capital, Dakar, on May 3, where she was placed in a special ward for sick detainees at Aristide Le Dantec Hospital.
Bassène was arrested in 2018 in connection with the deaths of 14 loggers who were shot and killed in Biot forest in Senegal’s southern Casamance area. In 2022 he was sentenced to life in prison for murder, attempted murder and accomplices from the Crime Association.
A 2025 CPJ investigation found the lawsuit against Bassène was severely flawed as journalist co-acccused was forced to engage him or sign an inaccurate interview record. The CPJ also found that the case relies on inconsistent evidence, and that journalists were abused behind bars.
CPJ’s appeal and message to Ousseynou Ly, a spokesman for the Senegalese President, has now been unanswered.
