Arrested on April 29 at his home, the former minister, former deputy and leader of ‘‘Front des Patriotes pour la Démocratie’’ party, Djimon Oré, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, a decision that his lawyer said was too harsh.
Djimon Oré was found guilty on Tuesday of “insulting public officials and spreading false news” and sentenced to two years in prison.
Taking stock of Togo’s 61 years of independence, on April 27, the former Minister of Communication called the Togolese government a “barbaric regime” and a “military-clan oligarchy.” Speaking of the army, Djimon Oré added during the program: “We have an army of occupation, which is not an army of the people, but one that is maintained and paid for by the resources of the Togolese. It is an army of Françafrique. He continues: “Our country Togo is a Nazi concentration camp, it is no longer an independent territory” before calling for “self-determination to regain independence through the opening of the transition period, to save Togo”.
These remarks were deemed defamatory and led to his arrest on April 29. His lawyer, Dieudonné Agbahè, considers the judgment to be severe: “All I can say is that the decision was a bit heavy. For this reason, an appeal was filed immediately after the judgment was handed down. I also realized today that the Public Prosecutor’s Office has appealed the same judgment, which means that it does not agree with the decision in one way or another. ”
Pending the appeal, the former Minister of Communication is deposited in the civil prison of Lomé.