More than 50 people arrested during anti-government protests in Togo last week have been released, though several others remain in detention, according to a statement from the public prosecutor.
The protests, which erupted overnight from June 5 to 6, were sparked by growing public frustration over the arrest of dissenting voices, surging electricity prices, and recent constitutional changes under President Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled the country since 2005.
Security forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in multiple areas of the capital, Lomé, including near the presidential palace. The protest was organized in response to a call by popular rapper Aamron, whose real name is Essowe Tchalla.
Togo has banned protests since 2022, following a deadly incident at Lomé’s main market. However, public meetings are still permitted under the current law.
In a televised statement on Monday, Public Prosecutor Talaka Mawama said that “56 individuals were released” based on “light charges.” He also described the demonstrations as “clearly part of a revolt against the institutions of the republic.”
The “Hands Off My Constitution” coalition—made up of opposition parties and civic groups—condemned what it called “mass and arbitrary arrests” during the June protests.
Calls for mobilization intensified after Aamron resurfaced in a video 10 days after his arrest from his home on May 26. In the video, he apologized to President Gnassingbé and claimed he was receiving treatment for “severe depression” in a psychiatric hospital.
According to his lawyer, Celestin Agbogan, Aamron remains hospitalized, and “there are no legal proceedings against him at this time.”
