Ousmane Sonko, the controversial opposition leader of Senegal, has been hospitalized

Jailed Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who has been on hunger strike since his detention last month, was admitted to a hospital in Dakar on Sunday, according to his lawyer and supporters.

His party, PASTEF, announced in a statement that he had been admitted to the hospital for emergency treatment, which was confirmed by two spokesmen and Cire Cledor Ly, one of his lawyers, though they did not reveal his health.

PASTEF stated in its statement that the authorities were “responsible” for Sonko’s situation. The authorities have not issued a remark on the matter.

Sonko, 49, began his hunger strike on July 30, just two days after being jailed.

He is a proclaimed candidate for the presidential election in February 2024 and has been embroiled in a power struggle with the government since 2021, when he was placed under investigation in a moral corruption case.

Sonko was sentenced to two months in prison in absentia on June 1. His supporters and he condemned the conviction as politically motivated.

According to the government, 16 people were killed in skirmishes, 24 were killed by Amnesty International, and 30 were killed by Sonko’s PASTEF party.

He was arrested late in July, and on Monday, he was charged with inciting insurgency, and his party was dissolved, sparking fresh riots in which two people were killed.

• Qualification for office –
• His convictions and the new allegations leveled against him cast doubt on his eligibility to run for president next year, but his defenders argue he can still do so.
• In the moral corruption case, they argue that because Sonko failed to attend his trial and was convicted in his absence, he must be retried now that he has been apprehended.
• Sonko’s lawyer, Ly, claimed the previous week that he had written to the courts stating that he did not accept his conviction, which he said was sufficient to necessitate that his conviction be annulled and he be retried.
• Abdou Karim Diop, the prosecutor, has rejected that interpretation of the law.
• Senegal’s parliament enacted legislation on Saturday that effectively reinstated the right of two major opposition legislators to participate in the country’s presidential election next year.
• The vote allowed anyone convicted but later pardoned or amnestied to run for office, allowing Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade to run who would otherwise have been ineligible.