Crackdown in Dakar Five Journalists Detained After Dawn Raids

October 29, 2025 – Senegal – 

In the early hours of October 28 and 29, 2025, authorities in Dakar carried out coordinated raids on the private television station 7TV and broadcaster RFM, resulting in the arrest of five journalists, including the station owner Maimouna Ndour Faye and producer Bamba Touré. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that as of the statement date, these two remained in custody and called for their immediate release.

The raids reportedly came amid heightened tensions between independent media outlets and the Senegalese government. The detained journalists are accused of unspecified offenses that authorities claim threaten public order, though CPJ and other press-freedom observers say the moves appear motivated by the journalists’ critical reporting rather than by legitimate public-safety concerns.

Senegal, long seen as a relatively open media environment in West Africa, has now joined a worrying trend of increasing pressure on independent news outlets. Media watchers highlight the timing and aggressiveness of the raids as signs that press freedom is under new strain, particularly for outlets that challenge or scrutinize government actions.

For the journalists involved and their families, the arrests mark a precarious moment. With two of them still in detention, uncertainty looms over their legal status and the conditions of their confinement. CPJ emphasizes that holding journalists in custody for their professional work undermines both the rights of the individuals and the public’s right to information.

The incident intensifies calls for reform of Senegal’s press-freedom protections, including guarantees against arbitrary detention and greater transparency in the treatment of media workers. As the world watches, the outcome of this case may offer a clearer indication of whether Senegal will uphold its reputation as a bastion of media pluralism or shift toward a more restrictive model.

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Five journalists arrested in raids on Senegal’s 7TV and RFM broadcasters