A Senegalese public prosecutor has rejected claims that a university student was killed by police during recent campus protests, saying instead that the student died after jumping from a building while attempting to escape a fire.<\/p>\n
The death of Abdoulaye Ba<\/span><\/span>, a medical student, occurred on February 9 amid police intervention at Cheikh Anta Diop University<\/span><\/span> in the capital Dakar<\/span><\/span>, following several days of student demonstrations. The incident has sparked nationwide outrage and renewed scrutiny of police conduct in Senegal<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n According to the public prosecutor of the Dakar court, Ibrahima Ndoye<\/span><\/span>, Ba was not beaten by security forces, contrary to allegations made by student groups. Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Ndoye said the student \u201cjumped from the fourth floor of Pavilion F and unfortunately landed on the asphalt,\u201d resulting in fatal injuries.<\/p>\n Ba\u2019s autopsy report cited severe chest and skull injuries \u201ccomplicated by massive internal bleeding,\u201d while ruling out a purely natural cause of death. Ndoye argued that these injuries were consistent with a fall from height, explaining that the student was attempting to flee flames and smoke from a fire that broke out in a university dormitory during the police operation.<\/p>\n The prosecutor did not provide details on the origin of the fire, which occurred as security forces moved in to disperse protesters on campus.<\/p>\n Student groups have strongly contested the official account. The UCAD students\u2019 collective last week accused police of having \u201cbrutally tortured [Ba] to death,\u201d and criticized Ndoye for what they described as contradictory and confusing statements. Tensions have continued to rise as students demand an independent investigation.<\/p>\n The Senegalese government has described the incident as a \u201ctragedy\u201d and acknowledged instances of police misconduct. However, Interior Minister Mouhamadou Bamba Cisse<\/span><\/span> defended the police intervention, accusing protesters of attempting to destroy university infrastructure and citing video evidence.<\/p>\n Videos filmed by students and widely shared on social media show clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Some footage depicts officers entering university buildings and firing tear gas, while students are seen throwing stones. In one video authenticated by international media, police officers appear to strike a man as he screams.<\/p>\n The case has intensified public debate in Senegal over the use of force by security services and accountability during protests, with calls growing for transparency and justice as investigations continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Senegalese public prosecutor has rejected claims that a university student was killed by police during recent campus protests, saying instead that the student died after jumping from a building while attempting to escape a fire. The death of Abdoulaye Ba, a medical student, occurred on February 9 amid police intervention at Cheikh Anta Diop<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[2863,283,677,803,2862,269,2861,2864,969],"class_list":{"0":"post-15135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-social","8":"tag-abdoulaye-ba","9":"tag-dakar","10":"tag-education","11":"tag-human-rights","12":"tag-police-conduct","13":"tag-senegal","14":"tag-student-protests","15":"tag-ucad","16":"tag-west-africa"},"yoast_head":"\n