Togolese journalists Loic Lawson and Anani Sossou jailed following minister’s complaint
New York, November 15, 2023 – Togolese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release journalists Loic Lawson and Anani Sossou, and reform the country’s laws and regulations to ensure journalism is not criminalized, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On Tuesday, November 14, an investigating judge at a Lomé court charged Lawson, publication director of…
Togolese authorities detain, threaten journalist Edouard Kamboissoa Samboe
New York, May 10, 2023—Togolese authorities should ensure that journalist Edouard Kamboissoa Samboe and all other members of the media can work without fear, and should drop any restrictions on Samboe’s work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the morning of April 30, Togolese soldiers arrested Samboe, the founder and owner of the…
Togolese journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou sentenced to 3 years in prison
New York, March 17, 2023 — In response to news reports that a Togolese court on Wednesday sentenced journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou to three years in prison for insulting authorities, the Committee to Protect Journalists released the following statement of condemnation: “Togolese authorities should not contest the appeals of L’Alternative publisher Ferdinand Ayité…
Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou summoned over insult, false news allegations
Accra, March 6, 2023–Togolese authorities should drop all legal proceedings against journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Isidore Kouwonou and allow them to work free from harassment or threat of arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Monday. Both journalists have been summoned to the country’s High Court in the capital city of Lomé for a trial…
Togolese Liberté newspaper suspended for 3 months, continues publishing amid appeal
On October 5, 2022 a court in Lomé suspended the privately owned Liberté newspaper for three months and fined the company and two of its staff members a total of 12 million West African francs (US$17,800) for publishing erroneous information about the prime minister, according to local media reports and the director of Liberté, Médard Amétépé, who spoke to the…
Special report: When spyware turns phones into weapons
How zero-click surveillance threatens reporters, sources, and global press freedom By Fred Guterl Published October 13, 2022 Aida Alami has always been wary of surveillance. As a journalist from Morocco, a state with a track record of intercepting phone calls and messages of political rivals, activists, and journalists, she habitually took precautions to protect her…
‘Permanent fear’: Togolese journalists on their lives 1 year after Pegasus Project revelations
One year after news broke about a list of over 50,000 phone numbers allegedly selected for surveillance with Pegasus spyware, journalists around the world continue to live and work with the fear that their phones can be used to track their conversations and penetrate all the personal and professional data stored on their devices. The…
Togo journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah detained over online broadcast
New York, December 13, 2021 — Togolese authorities should immediately release journalists Ferdinand Ayité and Joël Egah and halt legal harassment of Isidore Kouwonou, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 9, national police officers arrested Ayité, the publication director of the privately owned L’Alternative newspaper, after he responded to a summons to…
‘There is no private life’: Three Togolese journalists react to being selected for spyware surveillance
When Komlanvi Ketohou fled Togo in early 2021, he left behind his home, his family, and his cell phone that the gendarmerie seized when they arrested and detained him over a report published by his newspaper, L’Independant Express. In July, Ketohou, who goes by Carlos, learned that the phone number connected to the device they…
L’Alternative newspaper suspended, director harassed in Togo
New York, February 26, 2021 — Togolese authorities should immediately reverse the suspension of the L’Alternative newspaper and ensure journalists in the country can work free of harassment and intimidation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On February 5, the Broadcast and Communications High Authority (HAAC), Togo’s media regulator, suspended the privately owned L’Alternative…