At least 6 Togolese journalists attacked while covering opposition party meeting

“Togolese authorities must urgently identify those responsible for the physical attacks on journalists Hyacinthe Gbloedzro, Godfrey Akpa, Yawo Klousse, Yvette Sossou, Romuald Koffi Lansou, and Albert Agbeko, and hold them to account,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program. “Covering a political meeting should not mean putting yourself at risk of violence.”

The journalists attacked included:

• Hyacinthe Gbloedzro, a reporter with the privately owned Nana FM radio, who told CPJ that attackers in plain clothes threw chairs at the conference table and journalists in front of it, causing a stampede. An assailant then hit him with a chair.

• Godfrey Akpa, a reporter with the privately owned Ici Lomé news website, who told CPJ that an attacker punched him in the face and that, after he fell, more than 10 others beat him, trying to take his phone. Akpa said gendarmes watched without intervening.

• Yvette Sossou, a reporter for the privately owned newspaper La Dépêche, who told CPJ that she was grabbed, knocked to the ground, and punched, resulting in severe abdominal pain and headaches. The attackers also took her phone, equipment, and money.

• Yawo Klousse, news director of the privately owned online website Afrique en ligne, who told CPJ that assailants hit him with chairs and took his bag.

• Romuald Koffi Lansou, a reporter for the private news YouTube channel TogoVisions, who told CPJ that the assailants punched him in the back and threw his tripod and other colleagues’ phones into a nearby well.

• Albert Agbeko, publishing director of the privately owned news site Togo Scoop, who told CPJ that he was hit on his back with a chair and that an attacker snatched his phone while he was filming. On October 4, an unidentified person called Agbeko and said that “they were going to hit him” for continuing to cover rallies when “they were asked to stop,” according to a recording of the call shared with CPJ.

On September 30, Togolese police announced they opened an investigation and that security forces had not taken protective measures because the rally had been banned.

When CPJ called the armed forces ministry, a representative said they had no information about the incident.

Calls and messages to Yawa Kouigan, Togo’s minister of communication, media, and culture,  and spokesperson for the Togolese government, went unanswered.