Senegal: Seven Koranic teachers jailed

  1. Posted on Friday 10 September 2010 - 09:15
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    Nangayi Guyson, AfricaNews reporter in Kampala, Uganda
    The Senegalese authority sentenced seven Koranic teachers to jail after they were found guilty of forcing children to beg. Up to 50,000 children are being exploited by their teachers in Koranic schools in the West African country.
    SENEGAL:7 Koranic teachers sentenced over children begging
    The accused - six Senegalese and one from Guinea-Bissau - were also fined 100 000 francs in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) said was the first ever application of a 2005 law outlawing the practice of mass trafficking.

    A tougher sentence may have been expected but Wednesday's ruling is symbolic.

    During the trial defence lawyers pleaded for leniency, arguing that according to tradition, Koranic teachers around the country have always made their pupils beg, and the state had previously tolerated the offence.

    On August 25, the government banned begging in the streets of the capital, saying charity could only take place outside places of worship.

    Police rounded up several children between the ages of 6 and 16 whose testimony led to the arrest of the seven religious teachers.

    "This conviction is a first and it will have a resounding effect," said Malik Fall, a lawyer for the accused.

    A law was passed five years ago which criminalized the forcing of another person to beg but it was not enforced.

    It was not until the end of last month that the police started rounding up beggars after a move by the authorities to clamp down on extremist Koranic masters who mistreat children in the name of religion.

    Human Rights Watch says the latest ruling is a step in the right direction but there must be a sustained effort to tackle the problem.

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