Togo summoned the EU ambassador to protest a European Parliament resolution on the detention of an Irish-Togolese national in the West African nation, according to an official document seen by AFP.
The resolution calls on Togolese authorities to release Irish citizen Abdoul Aziz Goma, one of 14 people jailed for ten years in February for "plotting against internal security" after taking part in banned opposition demonstrations in 2018.
It condemns the Togolese government's detention and says he has been held "in secret" and "tortured".
A Togolese foreign ministry note says the West African nation considers the resolution a "clear interference in a purely judicial and sovereign issue".
MEP Seán Kelly spoke about Mr Goma in the European parliament earlier this week.
In a post on X, Mr Kelly said Mr Goma's "courage in the face of torture and injustice should shame those responsible for his imprisonment".
"His persecution, and that of countless others, is a stark reminder that authoritarian regimes such as the Gnassingbé family in Togo rule by fear.
"But a government that feels threatened by peaceful protestors and human rights defenders shows only its own weakness."
Togo saw new deadly demonstrations this year against constitutional reforms that opponents say will allow Togolese leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled the country for 20 years, to tighten his grip on power.
