Mauritius artist arrested for drawing a fresco of local political dissident

Dominique Jean François Wendy Sobha, a 41-year-old artist, was arrested on Tuesday 18 April for having drawn a fresco of political dissident Bruneau Laurette on a wall belonging to the Ministry of Social Security at Résidence Briqueterie, in the outskirts of Port Louis.

The artist was charged with “wall degradation” before Port-Louis District Court. He was eventually released against a bail of Rs 3,000.

The fresco had reportedly been there for some time but the police apparently acted after Bruneau Laurette shared the photo on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Residents of the area have described Dominique Sobha’s arrest as unfair.

“He lives here and regularly paints on this wall. He does nothing wrong and does no damage. There are people who do more harm but are walking freely. Why don’t police arrest them?”

Source: Defi Plus