Togo: Two journalists prosecuted; CSO meetings banned by authorities

Expression

Two journalists arrested, charged

On 13th November 2023, police arrested journalists Loïc Lawson, publication director of the newspaper Le Flambeau des Démocrates, and freelance journalist Anani Sossou, following a complaint by Kodjo Sévon-Tépé Adédzé, Togo’s Minister of Urban Planning, Housing and Land Reform. In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Lawson had alleged that 400 million CFA francs (approximately 663,000 USD) in cash was stolen from the Minister’s residence after the latter had reported a theft at his home without mentioning how much was stolen. Sossou repeated this figure and further speculated over the origins of the money.

The following day, on 14th November 2023, the two journalists were charged with ‘defamation’, ‘attacking the honour’ of Adédzé and ‘inciting revolt’.

On 1st December 2023, Lawson and Sossou were provisionally released and placed under judicial control. Additionally, their passports were confiscated. A few days later, on 6th December 2023, the two journalists apologised to the Minister, on social media, stating that they “overestimated” the amount of money that was stolen.

Under Togo’s press code, press offences are dealt with by the media regulator and not punishable with imprisonment. Article 156 of the Press Code, however, stipulates that journalists who used social media as a means of communication are “punished in accordance with the common law provisions”, including the Penal Code.

Association

Several meetings of CSOs and opposition party banned

A ceremony to launch the CSO project ‘Strengthening civil society for the promotion and protection of freedom of association and assembly in Togo’, financed by the European Union, set to take place in Lomé on 11th October 2023, was reportedly banned by local authorities. The organisers – NGO Solidarité and Action pour le Développement Durable (SADD; Solidarity and Action for Sustainable Development) and Universités Sociales du Togo (UST; Social Universities of Togo) among others – claim that all necessary administrative procedures were carried out. They reportedly received a telephone call banning the event just minutes before the start.

In a separate incident, a roundtable on the recommendations from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), organised by the Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) in Lomé, was reportedly banned, according to information received by the CIVICUS Monitor. The ban was reportedly communicated via a telephone call, just hours before the roundtable was set to take place on 1st December 2023.

In another development, the prefect of Zio banned a meeting of members and supporters of the political opposition party Forces Démocratiques pour la République (FDR; Democratic Forces for the Republic), which was planned to take place on 3rd December 2023 in the city of Tsevie. Although in Togo it is only required to declare meetings and protests, the prefect of Zio banned the public meeting because the organisers did not receive authorisation from the Minister of Territorial Administration to hold the meeting.

In a letter sent on 13th November 2023 to prefects (see above), the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation ‘reminded’ the prefects that only NGOs and associations with valid receipt of registration are allowed to implement activities in Togo.