Togo: Elections against a backdrop of muzzling dissenting voices

Authorities in Togo must end their escalating crackdown on human rights including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly amid political tension around the adoption of changes to the constitution, as Togolese vote in parliamentary and regional elections today, Amnesty International said.

Authorities banned demonstrations planned by political parties and civil society organizations on April 11, 12 and 13 to protest the amendments to the constitution that are likely according to them to allow President Gnassingbe to extend his 19-year rule. Citing “corroborating and reliable information,” the government accused protest organizers of violent intentions to justify the bans.

On 23 April, the Ministry of Territorial Administration sent a letter to two representatives of the opposition coalition, Dynamique Monseigneur Kpodzro (DMK), banning a peaceful sit-in planned for 25 April in front of the Constitutional Court, on the pretext that the request had been “signed by two people instead of three”.

“In Togo, dissenting voices can no longer enjoy their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It has been difficult, if not impossible, to contribute freely to the debate on the new constitution without fear of reprisals including arbitrary detention, despite repeated commitments by the authorities to guarantee human rights”, said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s regional director for West and Central Africa.

“The way in which the Togolese authorities have trampled upon the rights of those opposed to constitutional changes is appalling. The crackdown on human rights must end.”

Arbitrary arrests and detention

On 3 April nine members of the DMK were arbitrarily arrested on charges of “aggravated disturbance of public order”. Four of them were about to carry out a public awareness action to denounce the constitutional change. The other five were at the home of a DMK activist, where a political meeting was being held. They were all released on 9 April by a Lomé court. The prosecutor has announced his intention to appeal.

On 27 March, at least three press conferences and meetings bringing together political parties and/or civil society organizations wishing to express their disagreement with the constitutional change were banned in Lomé and Tsévié and dispersed by the security forces.

The right to freedom of expression and press freedom have also been widely violated in recent weeks. On 15 April, the High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication announced it would temporarily suspend accreditations to journalists, citing “problems” linked to the arrival of a French journalist, and “serious shortcomings in the coverage of political news on Togo by [French media] RFI and France 24”. The journalist was arrested on 15 April and deported the following day, after receiving a six-month suspended prison sentence for “illegal entry”.

Meanwhile, Apollinaire Mewenemesse, editor of the newspaper La Dépêche, was detained from 26 March to 9 April after publishing an article raising questions about the murder of an army officer in 2020. Placed under judicial surveillance, he is being prosecuted for allegedly spreading false news, undermining the honour of the President of the Republic, committing contempt of courts and tribunals, and forgery and use of forgeries, his lawyer told Amnesty International.

“The continued harassment and intimidation of those with dissenting voices, including through arbitrary arrests and banning of public gatherings and protests, is an affront to the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The authorities must respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the human rights of everyone in the country, including those who disagree with them,” Samira Daoud said.

Background

A new constitution was adopted on 19 April, in a second reading by a National Assembly made up entirely of representatives of the ruling party. Under the new constitution, Togolese citizens will no longer elect the President of the Republic by direct universal suffrage. Instead, the President will be elected by the National Assembly and the Senate for a four-year term. This highly controversial change has taken place against a backdrop of increasing human rights violations, notably the right to peaceful assembly, which now exists only on paper for opponents of the regime and civil society.