Fourteen people, including an Irish citizen, have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison in Togo for taking part in a banned protest against the dynasty that has ruled the west African country for more than five decades.
The criminal court, in the capital Lomé, convicted the accused of plotting against state security and criminal conspiracy for their role in the demonstration in December 2018.
The defendants, who have been in jail since their arrest, include Irish-Togolese national Abdoul Aziz Goma, whose imprisonment has been condemned by United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor.
Saddened to learn that Irish citizen Abdoul Aziz Goma was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment yesterday by a court in Lome for his humanitarian actions. It was good to see Irish diplomatic representation observing the trial & staying until 2am this morning. I hope that with time… https://t.co/xrYnSb5tBV
— Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs (@MaryLawlorhrds) February 4, 2025
Four other accused - who have fled Togo - were sentenced in absentia to 20 years at the end of the one-day trial.
Protesters took to the streets in 2017 and 2018 to condemn the grip on power of the Gnassingbe family, which has ruled the country of eight million people since Gnassingbe Eyadema - father of current President Faure Gnassingbe - took control in a 1967 coup.
Authorities responded to the demonstrations with a crackdown that left several dead.
Opposition and civil society groups said that 92 people arrested over the protests remain in prison.
