Help Drop Charges Against Prisoners Of Conscience (Togo: UA 94/16)

 

Two prisoners of conscience and two other men have been released on bail in Dapaong, Northern Togo. Five other men who had been detained with them in relation to protests held in Mango in November 2015 and April 2016 remain at the Prison of Dapaong.

 

Prisoners of conscience Adamou Moussa and Zékeria Namoro, as well as two other men Issa Issaka and Baba Awali, were released on bail after more than five months in detention on 6 September. The two prisoners of conscience should however have been released unconditionally with all charges against them dropped. Five other men who were detained together with them remain at the Prison of Dapaong. All nine were detained in relation to the protests that happened in November 2015 and April 2016. Security forces killed seven people and wounded at least 117 others during protests in Mango in November 2015. No one has been held accountable for the deaths.

 

Issa Issaka and Baba Awali were arrested on 1 April in relation to protests held concerning the arrest of Adamou Moussa and Zékeria Namoro. However, they claim not to have taken part in the demonstrations.

 

Adamou Moussa and Zékeria Namoro were arrested on 1 April after they questioned the commemoration of Togo’s Independence Day and called for justice for the people killed, ill-treated and arbitrarily detained following the November 2015 protests in Mango. They were charged with ‘incitement to commit a crime’.

 

After their release, Adamou Moussa and Zékeria Namoro sent the following message to Amnesty International,

 

"We express our deep gratitude to all people of goodwill who, from near or far, fought with us after our arrest on April 1 in Mango in Togo. We especially thank the members of Amnesty International who tirelessly defend justice in our country and around the world. You reached out to us during these difficult times as we were walking on the dangerous thorns of injustice. You were with us, supporting us morally, legally and wiping the tears our families".

 

1) TAKE ACTION

Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

• Calling on the Togolese authorities to drop all charges against Adamou Moussa and Zékeria Namoro as the charges are related to the exercise of their right to freedom of expression;
• Urging them to ensure that the seven other men are promptly brought to trial in proceedings that meet international fair trial standards and that the five men still in detention are accorded their right to be released on bail pending the determination of their case;
• Urging them to investigate the reports of torture and other ill-treatment and to bring those suspected to be responsible to justice and offer full reparations to the victims in accordance with international fair trial standards;
• Calling on the authorities to bring those suspected to be responsible for the killing of the seven demonstrators to justice.