A court in Lomé has sentenced 14 individuals to 10 years in prison for their involvement in unauthorized protests against the longstanding rule of the Gnassingbé family, which has governed Togo for over five decades.
The court found the accused guilty of plotting against state security and criminal conspiracy for their roles in demonstrations held in December 2018.
Among those sentenced is Abdoul Aziz Goma, an Irish-Togolese national, whose detention has drawn international criticism.
UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, condemned his imprisonment, stating that Goma was not physically present at the protests but had merely provided accommodation for demonstrators traveling from other parts of the country.
Lawlor also alleged that Goma has been subjected to torture while in detention.
In addition to the 14 individuals sentenced in court, four others who had fled the country were tried in absentia and handed 20-year prison terms.
The protests, which took place between 2017 and 2018, were fueled by demands for political reforms and an end to the rule of President Faure Gnassingbé, who succeeded his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, following his death in 2005.
Eyadéma had ruled Togo since seizing power in a 1967 coup.
The government responded to the demonstrations with a violent crackdown that resulted in multiple deaths.
Human rights groups and opposition leaders claim that at least 92 individuals arrested in connection with the protests remain in detention.
