Limitation des mandats de dépôt et fin de la prison pour dettes : Les nouvelles directives de Me Moussa Sarr
The Minister of Justice, Moussa Sarr, has just issued a particularly forceful circular dated Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Addressed to the Attorneys General, Public Prosecutors, and Presidents of the courts, this official document signals a firm commitment to ending the abusive use of pretrial detention. The Minister notes with regret the ineffectiveness of previous directives and criticizes the attitude of the public prosecutor's offices. He emphasizes that "few prosecutor's offices comply with the guidelines contained in these circulars and that prison facilities continue to face the problem of overcrowding."
This alarming situation is overcrowding Senegalese prisons and directly impacting public finances. According to the Minister of Justice, the overcrowding of cells "negatively affects the management of prisoners, the prison environment, and the use of prison operating funds."
Even more seriously, the document points out that this situation severely compromises "the State of Senegal's compliance with its international commitments and standards relating to decent conditions of detention." Faced with this observation, the minister unequivocally reaffirms "the requirement for prosecutors to streamline the systematic use of arrest warrants in order to avoid cases of unnecessary detention."
The other major focus of this circular concerns the practice of using police or gendarmerie services as instruments for collecting private debts. The minister emphasizes that he has been informed "that certain procedures relating to claims or debts are still being handled by investigative services, and that coercive measures are being taken under conditions that leave the accused with no alternative but payment."
To address this, Mr. Moussa Sarr is demanding immediate practical reforms. He urges magistrates to "prioritize alternative dispute resolution methods in cases with financial implications (fraud, breach of trust)" and to "promote release at the prosecution stage, especially when the accused offers sufficient guarantees of appearance." The circular also mandates that "complaints concerning civil or commercial matters be dismissed" and requires "the refusal to investigate complaints filed by civil parties concerning such matters." Finally, the minister advocates for increased use of modern alternatives to incarceration, particularly "electronic monitoring, which offers, to some extent, the same advantages as detention."
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