​FRAPP: Those detained for “crimes of opinion” must be tried without delay 

  Text in extenso. The FRAPP expresses its deep concern at the treatment of certain detainees accused of flagrant offences, including crimes of opinion. We strongly reaffirm our constant position that crimes of opinion cannot justify prolonged judicial instructions. When it comes to facts constituting a flagrant offence, justice must act with célérité, sans détour ni considérations extérieures. The FRAPP knows too well this practice, to have suffered it from the first mandate of the old regime, through the preference of the public prosecutor for judicial information procedures to the detriment of flagrant crime, including for offences that are manifest. We recall that the progressive forces of Senegal have always stood up against these methods, which risk undermining the credibility of justice and eroding the confidence of citizens in the rule of law. It is now imperative for the legislator to revise the code of criminal procedure as regards the methods of prosecution, by imposing on the public prosecutor the systematic recourse to the flagrant crime for every flagrant offence, notably the crimes of opinion. The remission of a convicted offender to a prison for a flagrant offence prevents excessive lengths of preventive detention and contributes to the deterioration of prisons. The FRAPP requires: The immediate programming of trials for all prisoners accused of opinion crimes, including Khalifa Rappeur, Assane Diouf, Abdou Nguer and all other citizens in the same situation;