Senegal’s Supreme Court ruling offers hope to suspended media outlets
Media Foundation for West Africa
Senegal’s Supreme Court has overturned a suspension order issued by the Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications and Digital Affairs against the online news outlet, Public SN.
On 12 June 2025, the Court ruled in favour of Public SN’s director Aissatou Diop Fall, after she challenged the ministry’s 22 April directive ordering her outlet to cease all broadcasting, publication and content sharing activities.
The suspension formed part of a broader clampdown by minister Alioune Sall, who issued a directive to shut down all media outlets deemed non-compliant with Senegal’s press code.
The order followed an evaluation by the Commission for the Review and Validation of Media Companies, which declared over 381 media outlets as non-compliant.
Read ‘Senegal: 381 media outlets to be suspended’, here
Following the directive, several media outlets received official cessation notices, including Public SN. Aissatou Diop Fall appealed to the Supreme Court on 28 April 2025, arguing that her outlet had submitted all the required documents under Article 178 of the press code and was fully compliant.
Her lawyer, Me Abou Dialy Kane, confirmed that the Supreme Court has ruled in her favour, although the official written judgement is yet to be released.
Commenting on the consequences of the suspension, Mamadou Ibra Kane, President of the Council of Broadcasters and Press Publishers of Senegal (CDEPS), said: ‘The consequences of the order were severe for the media outlets that were forced to shut down and lay off dozens of workers.’
‘An initial interim relief application was unsuccessful due to a procedural defect. With this new ruling, justice has been served.’
The MFWA welcomes the Supreme Court ruling, which is refreshing and reassuring, as it offers hope for the many media outlets that were equally ordered to suspend all forms of broadcasting, publication and content sharing
The fact that a compliant outlet was ordered to shut down calls into question the credibility of the assessment carried out by the Commission for the Review and Validation of Media Companies.
We encourage minister Sall to be guided by the ruling of the Supreme Court and hasten slowly in the implementation of his order.
We recommend that the minister halts the implementation of the suspension, and rather enter into a dialogue and agree on a compliance plan with any media outlet considered non-compliant.
In addition, capacity-strengthening interventions should be rolled out to help improve professionalism in the media sector.
Shutting down more than half of the media outlets in the country is tantamount to denying a substantial number of Senegalese access to information and platforms of engagement in local and national discourses.
