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Arrested, extradited, charged and subsequently imprisoned... and now finally flown home to Paris - that's been the experiences of French-Spanish lawyer Juan Branco over in Senegal.

The lawyer had been detained in Mauritania - and then handed over to the Senegalese authorities - following a recent legal defence of Senegal's main opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko.

Officials in Senegal had accused Mr Branco of entering the country illegally and subsequently charged him with a number of offences, including conspiracy to spread false news - a reference perhaps to the complaint he made to the International Criminal Court about the 700 political prisoners in jail in Senegal.

Developments around his detention even led to a debate in Senegal's National Assembly. So why did the authorities decide to let the lawyer go? Newsday spoke to the man himself - Juan Bronco:

"I had been kidnapped in Mauritania. I was arrested by masked men from Senegal without any presentation to a magistrate. What has happened to me has happened to thousands of people in Senegal."

(Pic: FILE Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko speaking in 2021; Credit: Reuters)

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