Madiambal Diagne faces prolonged extradition battle between Senegal and France

Senegalese media proprietor Madiambal Diagne is contesting extradition proceedings that link Dakar and Paris. In France, the Versailles Court of Appeal initially approved a partial extradition request, but Diagne’s lawyers have appealed to the French Court of Cassation. He expects a final ruling next year, noting that the average case duration in French courts is about 457 days and that any decree of extradition could still be suspended before the Council of State or the European Court of Human Rights.

In Senegal, the investigation by the Financial Judicial Pool (PJF) into the “Ellipse Project” is described by Diagne as a “empty shell” and is blamed on former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and Centif leader Amadou Bamba Siby for producing a unilateral report based on fictitious evidence. Diagne points to the recent Supreme Court ruling in the Farba Ngom case, which dismissed a public‑fund embezzlement charge where the accused had no contract with the state, as precedent supporting his confidence that the accusations will collapse.