Togo

Oliver Poko Amah, a former senior officer of the Togolese Gendaremie, has been detained and charged with “inciting the military to revolt”. He was charged after allegedly stating on the radio that the Togolese Armed Forces should play the role of an arbiter.

Koffi Djidonou Frédéric Attipou was injured in a hit-and-run attack on 3 April 2013. Attipou said that an occupant of one of the vehicles threatened him for being “one who sullies the image of the country by sending images abroad.”

Koffi Djidonou Frédéric Attipou was injured in a hit-and-run attack on 3 April 2013. Attipou said that an occupant of one of the vehicles threatened him for being “one who sullies the image of the country by sending images abroad.”

A panel of judges declared that six articles of Togo’s 2009 press law, which were amended on 19 February, were inconsistent with the constitution, according to news reports.

On 14 March, security forces in Togo prevented a group of journalists from staging a demonstration. The journalists were protesting a law that makes it easier for the media regulatory body to impose sanctions on the media.

On 12 March, Togolese media staged a nationwide news blackout to protest legislation granting the media regulatory body discretionary powers to impose sanctions on the media without recourse to judicial processes.

The Togolese Parliament has passed a new law granting the media regulatory body discretionary powers to impose sanctions on the media without recourse to judicial processes.

Gérard Adja, the first vice president of the Organisation to Build a United Togo, has been in detention since January 13, 2013. Adja is a leader of the Let’s Save Togo Collective, an opposition group that held a demonstration on January 10, 2013.

At least four journalists were reported injured by police while covering an anti-government protest, according to news reports. Several opposition and civil society organizations have staged protests over recent months, demanding government reforms before parliamentary elections scheduled for March, news reports say.

Justin Anani, a journalist for Le Crocodile weekly was physically assaulted by police officers while covering a police clamp down on demonstrators belonging to opposition and human rights groups in Lome, the capital of Togo.

The regulatory body questioned the legitimacy of the privately-owned newspaper and accused its managing editor of flouting provisions of the Press and Communication code.

Noel Kokou Tadégnon was attacked by security forces while filming a crackdown on demonstrators during the country’s independence day celebration.

In a telephone interview with CPJ, Minister of Security Colonel Dokissime Gnama Latta downplayed the assault as a “Little scratch.”

“Tribune d’Afrique” decided to suspend publication in Togo for one week in protest against police harassment of its staff.

“L’Indépendant Express” was ordered to pay 300,000 euros in damages to the plaintiff.

“Tribune d’Afrique” will be back on newsstands on 29 August for the first time since a Lomé court banned its distribution and sale one year ago in a libel case brought by Mey Gnassingbé, the president’s half-brother.