227 Final Project

                                                       Censorship in Togo

Togo, West Africa has had many problems related to censorship and freedom of speech, expression, etcetera for journalists in the country. Many of these journalists have had harsh repercussions for speaking out against the government and the many ministries in the region. A person who has been charged for speaking out against the government can face many years in prison and be required to pay a hefty fine. Many journalists have been arrested or have fled the country to avoid being arrested. A lesser consequence for these journalists is that many of their newspapers and other media sources have been suspended for a couple of months or have been permanently banned in the country.

The main reason for censorship in Togo is because many have been calling out the government and its ministries for its corruption and bad policies. Togo has had political problems since their declaration of independence in 1960, with the start of the harsh rule of its first president, Sylvanus Olympio. His presidency ended after two years when he was assassinated, and former leader Grunizky replaced him. His reign did not last long and that’s when Gnassingbé Eyadéma took power; the man who assassinated Olympio. Under his rule, he dissolved all political parties and became a dictator of the Republic of Togo until his death in 2005.

In 1992, there was a change in the constitution that allowed more than one political party but with so much corruption, Eyadema kept winning the elections. After his death, his son Faure Gnassingbe, became president of the Republic of Togo. His leadership came into effect by installation by the military, but after international uprisings, he stepped down and ran in April of 2005 and won. His election, at first, was seen as free and fair but now many stated that there was a considerable amount of fraud. He has been president since 2005 and has recently won reelection.

All these leaders have been known to do things for their own personal gain. Many of the problems that have occurred were due to lack of stability in the democracy and the greed of wanting power. A lot of the former leaders suspended the constitution, dissolved political parties, and rigged elections to stay in power and have financial gains. Today, Faure’s government’s goal is rekindling relations with the EU to gain more western aid for Togo. They have started allowing opposing parties into the government. Many citizens and opposing government officials are fighting for a presidential term limitation of two terms to take place but they do not know when that will go in effect, although there are talks going on about implementing that policy. In 2020, Faure won 70 percent of votes, but some have called him out for voter fraud.

The news site that I will be focusing on is called Committee to Protect Journalists, this site specializes in being an advocate for journalists around the world who have been arrested for speaking against the government and other powerful people. Their goal is to protect journalists by spreading awareness and fighting for them to have their charges dropped. One article talks about the suspension of a Togolese newspaper called the Liberte, which was suspended for three months in October of 2022 and was required to pay a fine of 12 million West African francs, an equivalent of $17,800 United States dollars. They were charged due to an erroneous article that stated that the current Prime Minister was present when someone in his security allegedly shot and killed a young man. The newspaper addressed the clarification by correcting the news article and apologizing but the prime minister still decided to charge them with defamation against the author and the newspaper.

The court declared their apology insincere and decided to fine the three defendants 4 million West African francs and suspend the newspaper. Situations like this happen a good amount in Togo and the majority of the charges are put forward by higher officials who are offended by the press.

Another article from a Nigerian journalist who writes for Committee to Protect Journalists, had written an article in 2017 that talks about a Togolese journalist who was a victim of a hit and run on his motorcycle. Although the article states only assumptions about who hit him, the victim stated he thinks he was targeted due to two criminal complaints that he filed against security forces who allegedly handcuffed and beat him at the beginning of the month when he was reporting on eviction in a village close to the Lomé capital. But unlike the other journalist, the Minister of Security and Civil Protection told the victim that those who harmed him would be reprimanded. The head of the team that assaulted him was arrested and the results of the case would be made public (Zarwn, 2017).  I have tried to find more information about this case, but I was not able to find the public information that was supposed to be made public. This incident sparked some conversation about better protection of journalists in the country.

The most recent case that I have seen in Togo has caused an uprising in the press. This case has been going on since December of 2021. They have recently been charged for insulting authorities and propagation of falsehoods. They have been sentenced to three years of prison and a hefty fine. They were charged because they were discussing corruption allegations of two ministers of the government. As of now, both of these men have fled the country to escape persecution. People across the country and the international world are fighting against them being charged. This story is still ongoing but as of right now, they are still being charged for these crimes.

Many other newspapers that have spoken out about the government of Togo and of the government in French have received punishment for speaking out. Complaints have come from France as well about these newspapers, they have been pressuring the Togolese government for repercussions. Criticism of the government has been high, especially now that Faure Gnassingbe has been reelected in February 2020 for another term (Spicer,2021). But many countries and organizations have spoken out about Togo’s lack of freedom of expression. Although it is stated in their constitution it is legal, outside sources say otherwise.

The United States Department of State 2019 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Togo has stated that although freedom of press is included in the constitution, the government has restricted these rights (Department of State, 2019). It also states that there have been death threats to reporters who have called out corruption of ministers. In the country, Libel and slander are also considered a criminal offense. The president of a political association who stated that the government had killed 100 demonstrators in recent protests. The president was sentenced to 18 months in prison with six months suspended and eight months as time served in pretrial detention (Department of State,2019).

The Freedom House does not have much information about Togo and their relative to the world but as of their new data presented for 2022, Togo is placed as party free in political rights and civil liberties. They state that police have been harsh towards people who use their freedom of expression. Some examples of these actions include violence, cutting of mobile phones and internet access, and have blocked messaging apps to discourage and hamper press coverage of opposition protests (Freedom House, 2023).

I was not able to find any information about any protests or outrage about the silencing of the press from people in the country, but I have found a lot of public opinion from people and writers outside the country, especially from the Committee to Protect Journalists. I think a big reason for this is because of the shutdown of these talks, like stated above from the Freedom House, it states that they block apps that push coverage of opposition protests. It also states that there has been deadly violence to disperse assemblies and there are penalizations for those who do not go through proper administration to protests. They have also limited the time and the place of where protests can occur; this has allowed authorities to restrict protests.

The site also addresses the fact that many of the people who are arrested and put in jail are there due to antigovernment protests and ideology. In these prisons, many people are tortured, especially those who are involved in anti-government demonstrations and practices of torture have been ban by the United Nations. There are many more examples of oppression and silencing of citizens for speaking out against the government and I do not see it changing anytime soon unless there is a change in government power and the presidential election becomes more democratic. But if you look at the history of Togo, the likelihood of this happening is very low.

Bibliography

• Asante, K. (2020, February 05). The media and the 2020 elections in Togo: High stakes ahead, fear of possible social media ban. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.mfwa.org/media-and-the-2020-election-in-togo-growing-censorship-fear-of-possible-social-media-ban/
• Crouch, E. (2020, April 03). Togo suspends 2 papers after French complaint, and a third for criticizing decision. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2020/04/togo-suspends-newspapers-french-complaint/
• Crouch, E. (2020, June 25). African Regional Court rules togo 2017 internet shutdown was illegal. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2020/06/african-regional-court-rules-togo-2017-internet-shutdown-was-illegal/
• Crouch, E. (2023, March 17). Togolese journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou sentenced to 3 years in prison. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2023/03/togolese-journalists-ferdinand-ayite-and-isidore-kouwonou-sentenced-to-3-years-in-prison/
• Faure Gnassingbé’s presidency. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Togo/Faure-Gnassingbes-presidency
• Human rights in Togo. (2022). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/west-and-central-africa/togo/report-togo/
• Omari, S. (2013, October 02). Togo shuts down private radio station permanently. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2013/10/togo-shuts-down-private-radio-station-permanently/
• Spicer, S. (2021, December 13). Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah detained over online broadcast. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2021/12/togo-journalists-ferdinand-ayite-and-joel-egah-detained-over-online-broadcast/
• Staff, C. (2022, October 14). Togolese Liberté newspaper suspended for 3 months, continues publishing amid appeal. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2022/10/togolese-liberte-newspaper-suspended-for-3-months-continues-publishing-amid-appeal/
• Togo – United States Department of State. (2020, December 01). Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/togo/
• Togo: Freedom in the world 2022 country report. (2022). Retrieved from https://freedomhouse.org/country/togo/freedom-world/2022
• Zarwan, E. (2017, February 22). Togolese journalist beaten, victim of hit-and-run. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://cpj.org/2017/02/togolese-journalist-beaten-victim-of-hit-and-run/