More than 50 individuals who were detained during anti-government demonstrations in Togo last week have now been released, though several others remain behind bars, according to a statement from the public prosecutor.
The protests, which unfolded overnight between June 5 and 6, saw security forces deploy tear gas to break up crowds in various parts of Lomé, including areas close to the presidential palace.
The demonstrators had rallied in response to a call from Aamron—a well-known rapper and vocal critic of the government—urging citizens to speak out against a wave of arrests targeting dissenters, surging electricity costs, and controversial constitutional reforms pushed by President Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005.
Despite public meetings still being legally permitted, street protests have been officially banned in Togo since 2022, a measure introduced after a deadly attack rocked Lomé’s main market.
“A total of 56 people were released” by the government on “charges deemed light”, public prosecutor Talaka Mawama said in a televised statement on Monday.
However, “the custody period for some of those arrested has been extended to allow for certain necessary investigative steps”, he added.
“These people will also be presented to the prosecutor’s office in the coming hours.”
The prosecutor said the demonstrations “are clearly part of a revolt against the institutions of the republic”.
The “Hands Off My Constitution” coalition of opposition parties and civic groups earlier told AFP it “strongly condemns the mass and arbitrary arrests” made on June 5 and 6.
Calls for protests grew louder after Aamron—whose real name is Essowe Tchalla—resurfaced in a video ten days following his arrest from his home in Lomé on May 26.
In the hours before his detention, the rapper had joined others in urging citizens to take to the streets.
However, in the video, he offered an apology to the president and claimed he was currently in a psychiatric hospital due to what he described as “severe depression.”
Aamron remains hospitalised, according to one of his lawyers, Celestin Agbogan, who told reporters on Monday that “there are no legal proceedings against Aamron.”
