Prosecutor Saliou Dicko's appeal in the Pape Cheikh Diallo and Co. case: deciphering a "minimal appeal"

The ruling issued on August 7, 2026, by the investigating judge of the first chamber of the Pikine-Guédiawaye High Court, in the case of "Pape Cheikh Diallo, Djiby Dramé and Co.," granted a complete dismissal of charges against 28 of the 99 defendants. However, the public prosecutor, Saliou Dicko, immediately appealed this decision, effectively suspending their release. According to legal expert El Amath Thiam, this appeal falls under a specific category of criminal procedure: the minimal appeal.

Of the 99 people charged in this case, the investigating magistrate dismissed all charges against 28 and ordered 71 others to stand trial before the criminal court on charges of conspiracy and unnatural acts. The judge, however, dismissed the charges of endangering the lives of others and intentionally transmitting HIV/AIDS due to insufficient evidence.

The public prosecutor's office, which had requested that all the accused be sent to trial for all the offenses initially targeted, immediately appealed this order.

In his analysis, the jurist El Amath Thiam revisited the distinction between two concepts of criminal procedure, namely the minimum appeal and the maximum appeal.

“In criminal law, a minimal appeal refers to an appeal filed by the public prosecutor, who believes the sentence is too lenient and seeks a harsher penalty. For example, the court sentences a defendant to two years in prison. The prosecutor believes the sentence is insufficient and appeals to request a more severe punishment,” he explains. He continues, “Conversely, a maximum appeal is generally filed by the convicted person, who requests a reduction or cancellation of the sentence (contesting a decision that is too harsh).”

According to El Amath Thiam, the appeal filed by Prosecutor Saliou Dicko in this case corresponds precisely to this situation. By contesting the charges dismissed by the investigating judge, as well as the acquittals granted to 28 defendants, the prosecution is seeking, according to the legal expert, to "further engulf" the individuals and charges initially brought against them. In both scenarios, whether the prosecutor contests the dismissed charges or the acquittals, the objective is the same. "Therefore, the prosecutor is working towards a more serious judicial penalty than the committal order," he explains.

It is this logic which allows us to qualify the prosecutor's appeal as a minimal appeal, made on the basis of Article 179 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that, except for exceptions provided for in Articles 153 paragraph 4 and 154, the public prosecutor has the right to appeal to the Indictment Chamber against any order of the investigating judge.

The lawyer and president of Justice Without Borders (JSF) also notes that this approach by the Pikine-Guédiawaye prosecutor's office could be part of an instruction given by its hierarchy, in this case the Attorney General (PG).

This appeal by Prosecutor Saliou Dicko has the immediate effect of suspending the dismissal of charges against the 28 individuals concerned, who remain in detention pending the decision of the Indictment Chamber, even though the investigating judge had determined that there was insufficient evidence against them. As for the 71 defendants referred to the criminal court, their situation remains unchanged by this appeal, since they were already slated to appear before the trial court. Only the withdrawal of the prosecutor's appeal, or a decision by the Indictment Chamber confirming the dismissals, will allow the 28 individuals concerned to actually regain their freedom.