A Senegalese public prosecutor claimed on Tuesday that a student, who protesters say was killed by the police, in fact died after "jumping from the fourth floor" of his residence while fleeing a fire.
The death of medical student Abdoulaye Ba in unclear circumstances on 9 February – as police intervened on his university campus in the capital Dakar following several days of student demonstrations – has shaken the west African nation.
His autopsy report lists several injuries to the chest and skull "complicated by massive internal bleeding", which the coroner said ruled out "an isolated natural cause".
The students' collective at the Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) insisted last week that Ba was "brutally tortured to death by the police".
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But the Dakar court's prosecutor on Tuesday rejected that account, insisting that Ba "had not been beaten".
The student "jumped from the fourth floor of Pavilion F and unfortunately landed on the asphalt. This explains the injuries and other damage observed by the forensic doctor on his body", Ibrahima Ndoye told the press.
According to Ndoye, Ba was attempting to flee from a fire that had broken out in his dormitory, resulting in "flames and smoke that were causing them to suffocate".
The prosecutor did not give details about the cause of the alleged fire, which took place during the police intervention on campus.
His previous insistence on Saturday that Ba had not been tortured prompted the UCAD students' association to accuse the prosecutor of "stirring up confusion".
'Police misconduct'
The government has described the student's death as a "tragedy" and admitted to "police misconduct".
But Interior Minister Mouhamadou Bamba Cisse also justified the intervention by accusing students of attempting to destroy university campus infrastructure, citing video evidence.
Footage filmed by students and shared on social media showed the violence between the security forces and students.
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In some of the images, officers are seen entering university grounds and firing tear gas into buildings, while students retaliated by throwing stones.
In one video authenticated by French news agency AFP, police officers are seen striking a screaming man with blunt instruments.
(with newswires)
