Two of the lawsuits were brought against the weekly "L'Indépendant Express".
(MFWA/IFEX) – On 30 August 2010, Togo’s President, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, filed three more defamation suits against two privately-owned newspapers.
Two of the suits were brought against the weekly “L’Indépendant Express”. This brings to three the number of cases that President Gnassingbé has launched against “L’Indépendant Express” since 18 August.
The Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) correspondent in Togo reported that these latest suits followed two articles that “L’Indépendant Express” published on 3 and 24 August accusing the administration of mismanagement and corruption.
The correspondent said President Gnassingbé brought another suit against “Liberté” newspaper over a 3 August article headlined: “Handling of state affairs in Togo”. The article claimed that sex influences the management of the affairs of Togo.
Meanwhile, the earlier case against “L’Indépendant Express” has been adjourned to 29 September 2010.
