Dakar, Oct 4 (APS) – A training and capacity building workshop for journalists on the organization and operation of the financial judicial pool (PJF) was held Friday in Dakar at the initiative of the Civil Forum and the Association of judicial journalists of Senegal.
”It is a training aimed at reviewing the content of the law, the composition of the financial judicial pool, the offenses falling within its jurisdiction, but also on the procedures concerning its referral, the files which have been referred to the CREI ( Court for the Repression of Illicit Enrichment) and which rightfully belong to the financial judicial pool,” declared the coordinator of the Civil Forum, Birahim Seck.
Speaking at the close of the workshop, he welcomed the participation of around twenty journalists, stressing that the acquired knowledge of this training will enable journalists to “do their work while complying with ethical rules, ethical rules that govern their profession.
”We discussed a lot about the strong points of the financial judicial pool, but also about the elements that should perhaps be readjusted to the level,” said Birahim Seck.
The coordinator of the Association of Judicial Journalists, Aliou Diouf, welcomed the holding of such a training workshop, which “will help journalists to do their work correctly”.
”This workshop offers us the opportunity to deepen our knowledge to prepare ourselves to meet the challenges of our profession, better inform the public and contribute to the fight against impunity and corruption in our country,” indicated the journalist.
He thus underlined ”the fundamental role of journalists in transparency and public accountability”.
“We have a responsibility to inform our fellow citizens, to enlighten them on complex issues and to help them navigate the maze of legal and financial news,” added Aliou Diouf.
The financial judicial pool was installed on September 17 in Dakar to replace the Court for the Repression of Illicit Enrichment (CREI) created in 1981.
The PJF composed of 27 magistrates takes into account cases relating to corruption and similar practices (embezzlement and subtraction of public funds, fraud, counterfeiting, offenses linked to information and communication technologies, those relating to regulation of public procurement, maritime piracy, terrorist financing, migrant smuggling and banking regulation), etc.
“These magistrates will deal with questions relating to economic and financial offenses, the financing of terrorism, money laundering as well as many other related offenses,” reported Judge Mamady Diané, member of this structure.
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