On December 17, 2024, in Diass, a newborn girl was discovered in some bushes near a mosque. Placed in a bucket, the baby was reportedly left exposed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. before being found by students of the Quran. Rushed to the hospital, she died a few hours later. The tragedy deeply shocked the residents of the neighborhood.

Among the witnesses present that day, SS Dione, the accused woman's brother, had a premonition. Convinced that the infant could be his sister's child, he went to her home to ask her to turn herself in to the authorities. In court, A. Dione, born in 1992, stated that her brother was unaware of her pregnancy. “He found me lying in bed that day and deduced that the child he discovered was mine,” she explains. Charged with child abandonment in a secluded place resulting in death, the accused claims she was in denial about her pregnancy. She maintains that she didn't know she was pregnant, stating that she continued to menstruate for several months. “I thought I had pain related to fibroids. When the baby was born, it cried. I put it in a bucket, then left it around 8 a.m. near the mosque. I didn't even know if it was a boy or a girl. I regret my actions,” she declares, adding that she hoped someone would take in the child. The prosecutor, for his part, rejects the claim of ignorance. According to the prosecution, the facts demonstrate a deliberate intent. “When a woman gives birth and the child dies, it can be considered an accident. But concealing her pregnancy, giving birth in secret, and abandoning a newborn in an isolated location constitutes criminal intent,” the magistrate argued, characterizing the acts as premeditated murder before requesting a 10-year prison sentence. The defense, led by Mr. Mouhamed Fadel Fall, pleaded his client's vulnerability. “She is not a malicious person. She is vulnerable, uninformed, and was abandoned by the child's father, who never took responsibility,” the lawyer argued. Acknowledging the seriousness of the facts, the defense requested that the charges be reduced to endangering the lives of others and failing to assist a person in danger, emphasizing that the child was still alive when discovered. Following deliberations, A. Dione was ultimately sentenced to five years in prison. Khady NDOYE