URGENT ACTION

OPPOSITION MEMBERS ARBITRARILY DETAINED
Political activists, Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo and Gérard Yaovi Djossou – both members of the Dynamique Monseigneur Kpodrzo (DMK), a group of opposition parties and civil society organizations in Togo- were arrested respectively on 28 and 27 November after the DMK called for a demonstration to denounce the results of the February 2020 Presidential election and the judicial harassment of government opponents. They were charged with ‘criminal conspiracy’ and ‘undermining the internal security of the state’ and have since been detained. They must be immediately and unconditionally released.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Pius Agbetomey
Minister of Justice and Legislation
Boulevard de la nouvelle Présidence de la République 
BP 121 Lome Togo
Email: agbetomeypius@yahoo.fr
Dear Minister, 

I am writing to you concerning the cases of Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo and Gérard Yaovi Djossou, both members of the Dynamique Monseigneur Kpodrzo (DMK), a coalition of opposition parties and civil society organizations in Togo. Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo is a coordinator while Gérard Yaovi Djossou is in charge of work related to social affairs and human rights.

They were arrested on 28 and 27 November respectively after the DMK called for a peaceful demonstration in Lomé, Togo’s capital -later banned by the authorities- to denounce the results of the February 2020 presidential election that saw President Faure Gnassingbé re-elected for a fourth term and protest the harassment of government opponents. On 4 December they were charged with ‘’criminal conspiracy and undermining the internal security of the state’’ and are being detained in the Central Service for Research and Criminal (SRIC) office in Lomé.

Gerard Yaovi Djossou was arrested in Lomé in traffic by plainclothes gendarmes. One of the plainclothes agents reportedly punched him three times. He was allegedly interrogated for ten hours while handcuffed and without his lawyer present. The following day, on 28 November, Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo went to visit Gerard Yaovi Djossou at the SCRIC. She was thereafter accompanied back home by SCRIC agents who searched her house and vehicle and carried out her arrest.

Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo and Gerard Yaovi Djossou are being detained solely in connection to their political views and their arrest and detention is meant to deter opposition members and dissenting voices from freely organising peaceful assemblies and speaking out against the re-elected President.

In light of the above, I urge you to immediately and unconditionally release Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo and Gerard Yaovi Djossou and ensure that the charges against them are dropped; ensure that, pending their release, their conditions of detention are in line with international standards, including access to water, food and regular access to their families and lawyers; and to end the harassment and arrests of members of civil society and members of opposition for simply exercising their rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.

Yours sincerely,

Additional information

On 27 November, Gerard Yaovi Djossou was arrested in Lomé in traffic by plainclothes gendarmes. He was coming from a meeting with embassies. Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo – who is also the West-Africa coordinator at the organisation, Women in Law and Development in Africa ( WILDAFF)- returned home following her visit at the SCRIC to see Gerard Yaovi Djossou accompanied by SCRIC agents, who searched her and her house, taking two backpacks containing personal documents, about ten notebooks, a computer and two hard drives.
On 21 April, 16 DMK members were arrested while they opposed the arrest of the opponent Agbéyomé Kodjo the same day. They were found guilty of “rebellion and complicity in rebellion” and sentenced to one year in prison with eight-months suspended. They were released on 25 August.
In February 2020, the Electoral Commission said that President Faure Gnassingbé had received 72% of the vote, compared with about 18% for his opponent Kodjo. Opposition leader Agbéyomé Kodjo has accused the authorities of widespread fraud and contested the re-election of Faure Gnassingbé.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: FRENCH
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 3 FEBRUARY 2021 
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PRONOUN: Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo (She/her); Gerard Yaovi Djossou (He/his)

Additional TARGETS

Mr. Christian Trimua
Minister of Human Rights
4 Rue Sylvanus Olympio en face de la Pharmacie Bel Air, Adawlato
- BP 1325 Lomé -TOGO

And copies to:
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary
Embassy of the Republic of Togo
Unit 3, 7 & 8 Lysander Mews
Lysander Grove, London
N19 3QP
020 72637522
Monday-Friday 09.00-13.00 & 14.00-17.00