The ECOWAS Court has ordered Senegal to pay six million CFA Francs compensation to former Senegal’s sports minister, Lat Diop, for violating his right to freedom of movement.

The court’s president, Justice Ricardo Gonçalves, also ordered the Senegalese government to immediately lift all restrictions imposed on Mr Diop’s movements.

The court held that Senegal arbitrarily and unlawfully restricted Diop from travelling abroad, breaching ECOWAS protocols and international human rights obligations.

It declared that Senegal violated Diop’s right to freedom of movement, in breach of Article 12(2) of the African Charter.

The 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 August 28, 2024, despite completing 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.

Mr Diop had also supported his claims with evidence of his ECOWAS identity card, stamped passport, boarding pass, and media reports.

He further argued that the travel ban violated his rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

However, the Senegalese government had, in its defence, denied imposing any official travel ban on Mr Diop, and described his claims as “speculative.”

The government had claimed that the former minister was under investigation for financial crimes, including embezzlement and money laundering, as of September 2024, and was still holding a diplomatic passport.

The three-member panel also comprised Justice Gberi-Bé Ouattara and Justice Edward Asante.

(NAN)