Canada: Incidental arrest of a diplomat from Senegal

It is developing into a “headache” for his police Canada the case of the episodic arrest in a suburb of Ottawa of a diplomat from Senegal. Dakar denounced a “racist and barbaric” action, while Canadian authorities promised a “thorough investigation” into the “unacceptable” incident.

Her Foreign Ministry Senegal called the charge d’affaires of the Canadian embassy in Dakar to protest vehemently.

“We are extremely concerned about the alleged treatment of the Senegalese diplomat by the police in the city of Gatineau,” Canada’s foreign ministry responded, stressing that “what happened is unacceptable.”

Canadian police officers raided the home of the Senegalese diplomat last Tuesday, during which they “exerted humiliating physical and moral violence,” according to Dakar.

“Canada takes very seriously its obligations under the Vienna Convention,” which has governed consular relations since 1963, Justin Trudeau’s government insisted.

Yesterday Saturday, the local government in Quebec – the province where the incident happened – announced the launch of an independent investigation into “questionable police intervention” against the “First Counselor of the Senegalese Embassy in Canada”.

An ambulance arrived

Gatineau police admitted their involvement in the incident, following a request by a court summons for the assistance of security forces.

“Despite being reminded of the victim’s diplomatic status and the inviolability of her home, Canadian police officers handcuffed her, beat her severely to the point where she had difficulty breathing, which led to her being transported by ambulance to a hospital,” according to Canadian authorities. Senegal.

Canadian police said they confirmed “the court document was valid” and that the court official was “aware of the diplomatic status” of the woman.

He claims, however, that the police were confronted by “an aggressive person, refusing to cooperate”. He talks about an attack on a police officer who was “hit in the face and injured”. Then, he notes, it was decided to arrest the diplomat, who “resisted” and “injured, biting a second policeman”.

Afterwards, the diplomat from Senegal was “immobilized on the ground” and taken to the “back seat of a patrol car, under the supervision of a female police officer”. “He did not report being injured or in pain,” Canadian police say.

An ambulance arrived minutes later, police confirmed, without elaborating.

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Senegal’s foreign ministry said it had issued a “note of protest”, demanding that Canadian authorities “investigate and prosecute those responsible for this unacceptable attack”.

“Canada will continue to work fully with Senegal to resolve this unfortunate situation,” Ottawa assured.

“We expect a thorough investigation,” the Canadian government said, noting that Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie is “in contact with her Senegalese counterpart.”

Senegal is one of Canada’s most important partners in West Africa, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in regular contact with Senegalese President Macky Sall – the latest at the end of June, as noted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).