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afrol News, 8 June - Lucien Messan, senior member of the Togolese press corps, has been sentenced to eighteen months prison "spreading false information". Messan, editor of the weekly "Le Combat du peuple", thus is the thirty-fifth Togolese journalist to be imprisoned in the last ten years. Lucien Messan, 55 years old, on Tuesday 5 June was convicted to one and a half years of prison and a half-year's probation by a Lomé court. Messan's lawyers stated they were "disappointed and frustrated" by the verdict, and expect to file an appeal within few days. The editor on 23 May was taken to the Lomé gendarmerie, where he had been summoned to answer to a charge by the Minister of Home Affairs, saying he had illegally "spread false information". Messan was immediately taken to the Lomé prison, where he has remained since. Messan had signed a communiqué by the Togolese Association of Private Press Editors (ATEPP), critical to the government's media policy. The communiqué denounced the statements by the Togolese Prime Minister claiming, "the publishing directors unanimously are confirming that there never have been committed death sentences in Togo." ATEPP is accusing the government of "trying to use the private press." This statement was considered "a lie" by the Minister of Home Affairs. In August 2000, Lucien Messan himself had filed a complaint against the Minister of Home Affairs for his ministry's "abuse of power". The complaint came after police several times had confiscated the entire stock of "Combat du peuple par la police". Aged 55, Messan is the doyen of the Togolese private press corps. He is known for being the outstanding journalist most outspoken in his critics of the dictatorship of President Gnassingbé Eyadéma. Already in 1998, he had been detained, accused of "spreading false information". The French media watchdog Reporters sans frontières (RSF) is protesting the conviction of editor Lucien Messan. In a letter to the Togolese Minister of Justice, General Seyi Ménène, RSF demands that "competent authorities" take care of Messan's appeal case. General Seyi Ménène is responsible of "promoting democracy and the rule of justice". - With this conviction, the Togolese judiciary is silencing an independent journalist and, at the same time, is threatening the entire private press corps," Robert Ménard, Secretary-General of the press organisation yesterday stated. RSF claims that, over the last ten years, Togolese authorities have detained thirty-four journalists. "More than ten of these have been convicted to several months of imprisonment." RSF claims the freedom of the press is under heavy attack in the small, West African country. This is sustained by independent sources. According to US government sources, the Togolese government and the security forces systematically restrict the freedom of the press, "often using investigative detention and criminal libel prosecutions to harass journalists and political opponents." In January 2000, laws were passed allowing for an extended imprisonment of journalists who write articles critical of the government and its officers. Togo is headed by President General Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who has ruled since 1967, when he came to power in a military coup. His "civilian" government remains strongly backed by the armed forces. Eyadéma's Togo is known for severe and systematic violations of human rights, including extrajudicial executions of oppositional forces. Sources: Based on RSF, US govt. and afrol archives
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