A Paris court has dismissed former president Macky Sall’s claims against a website “nonamacky.org”. In the ruling, the court refused to block the site within French territory and also rejected the complaint regarding infringement of his image rights.
The former head of state had initiated legal proceedings against the site’s host, several technical intermediaries, and the operators Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, and Free. He sought to have these service providers prevent their subscribers in France from accessing the platform and to have the technical services enabling its distribution shut down.
Available in nine languages — including all the official languages of the UN Security Council — the site claimed to possess “documented evidence” indicting Sall over the deaths of 65 people during the 2021-2024 political violence in Senegal, hidden national debt estimated at US$7 billion, constitutional violations, disappearances, and impunity stemming from the amnesty law.
The platform drew on archives, testimonies, and reports concerning Macky Sall’s two terms in office, revisiting the violence that occurred during political protests, the arrests of opposition figures, and various financial scandals.
Its stated goal is to campaign among diplomatic missions, international advocacy groups, and key decision-makers to dissuade them from supporting the candidacy of Mr Sall for the job of UN secretary general.
Macky’s lawyers told the court that the site’s articles were defamatory and personal attacks and challenged the use of his image on the platform and in campaign visuals.
However, the judges concluded that the published criticisms did not constitute an unlawful infringement warranting a restriction on access. In their analysis, they distinguished between criticisms personally targeting the former president and those concerning the functioning of Senegalese institutions during his presidency. The court noted that several of the incidents in question were attributed to state institutions or officials, and that their occurrence during Sall’s term was not, in itself, sufficient to constitute a personal attack against him.
The characterisation of the former leader as “unfit” for the role of secretary-general was deemed a critical value judgment regarding a bid for an international post. Regarding the use of his image, the court did not order the removal of the portraits. The judges held that debate on matters of public interest falls within the scope of fundamental rights related to information and the free flow thereof.
However, the ruling does not pass judgment on Macky Sall’s suitability to lead the UN; it only addressed the request to block the site and the legal grievances raised against the platform.
Senenews