More than 50 individuals detained during last week’s anti-government protests in Togo have been freed, though some remain in custody, the public prosecutor announced.
Protesters were dispersed with tear gas overnight from June 5 to 6 across various parts of Lomé, the capital, including areas near the presidential palace. They had gathered following a call from popular rapper Aamron to speak out against the arrests of dissenting voices, rising electricity costs, and constitutional changes under President Faure Gnassingbé, who has been in power since 2005.
Since 2022, protests have been banned in Togo following a deadly attack at Lomé’s main market, although public gatherings are still permitted.
“A total of 56 people were released” by the government on “charges deemed light,” public prosecutor Talaka Mawama said during a televised statement on Monday.
The prosecutor also noted that the demonstrations “are clearly part of a revolt against the institutions of the republic.”
Earlier, the “Hands Off My Constitution” coalition, which includes opposition parties and civic groups, told AFP it “strongly condemns the mass and arbitrary arrests” that took place on June 5 and 6.
The calls for protests grew stronger after Aamron, whose real name is Essowe Tchalla, appeared in a video 10 days after being arrested at his home in Lomé on May 26.
Hours before his arrest, he had joined others in urging people to protest. However, in the video, he apologized to the president and said he was in a psychiatric hospital suffering from what he described as “severe depression.”
The rapper remains hospitalized, according to one of his lawyers, Celestin Agbogan, who told reporters on Monday that “there are no legal proceedings against Aamron.”
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