In Senegal, relatives of nationals who died from the Covid-19 abroad have decided to take their case to the Supreme Court to force the authorities to accept the repatriation of dozens of bodies, some of which have been blocked for weeks. According to the collective, 80 Senegalese died of the coronavirus outside the country, including about 40 in France alone. But the director of the Senegalese Department of Foreign Affairs, Amadou François Guèye, told AFP that “the government maintains its decision not to repatriate the bodies.
The Collective, in connection with a network of Senegalese lawyers from the diaspora (Rafsen), decided to support a petition for summary proceedings before the Supreme Court. It is the day before yesterday, Tuesday, that the application for summary proceedings was filed. The Court will have 48 hours to decide.
Since 9 April 2020, the Collective for the Repatriation of Senegalese Deceased from Covid-19 abroad, present in more than 30 countries, has been working to lift the measure taken by the State of Senegal prohibiting this repatriation. Through various channels, the Collective has requested the competent authorities to cancel this decision, which calls into question the fundamental right of families to bury their dead in Senegal.