The Senegalese bar facing the “file of shame”
The case involving defendants prosecuted in particular for “unnatural acts” and “voluntary transmission of HIV”, places Senegalese lawyers infant of an unprecedented ethical dilemma. According to Les Échos, while the file has nearly 40 defendants, only eight lawyers – mostly young colleagues – have agreed to constitute themselves.
According to the newspaper’s investigation, this unusual reluctance within the Senegalese bar, despite fees deemed attractive, is explained by a mixture of social pressure, religious considerations and fear of stigmatization.
Several black dresses, interviewed by the same source, recognize that the gaze of society is a major brake. One of the lawyers already constituted also confides, under anonymity:
“I don’t even want people to know that I’m in this case. It’s a very sensitive file. You hesitate several times before setting up and you even have to consult your loved ones before starting. ”
In a context where the lawyer is often assimilated to the cause he defends, some fear being labeled “the lawyer of goordjiguenes” (homosexuals) and seeing their personal image or that of their firm tainted. This apprehension is all the more strong for those who are considering a political career. As a young lawyer explains:
“There is something infamous that makes many lawyers not want their names to be associated with these facts. ”
Beyond social pressure, the religious dimension also weighs in the choices of certain councils. A lawyer anticipated to join the defense says bluntly:
“I can’t take this file. Never. When I myself read a passage from the Koran where God says it is the worst of abominations, I cannot accept. ”
For him, the proposed fees do not change his decision. He even adds:
“I don’t want this money to be used by my family. It’s money unfit for consumption. ”
In the face of these positions, other lawyers point out, however, that the right to the defence remains a fundamental principle. A dean of the bar, with more than thirty years of career, adopts a decisive position:
“Even the biggest criminal has the right to a lawyer. I took an oath to defend the widow and the orphan. If someone constitutes me and pays me accordingly, I defend him accordingly. It’s my job. ”
In the same vein, another council compares the role of the lawyer to that of a doctor:
“The lawyer defends a case, he does not defend a goordjiguène. It’s like the doctor who has a patient in his hands: he cannot refuse to treat him because of his status. ”
Some lawyers have also agreed to set up on principle, sometimes even without collecting fees. One of them explains:
“I constituted myself because I didn’t like some things that happened at the brigade that day. But I didn’t ask for any fees. ”
However, the daily interlocutor acknowledges the complexity of the file and the pressure of opinion:
“In Senegal, we are used to assimilating the lawyer to the cause he defends. “
