By Amnesty Internation Mensah Agbenou
As outrage continues over the violent repression of recent protests in Togo, several testimonies collected by Amnesty International reveal a disturbing reality that directly contradicts the official government version of events.While authorities claim that bodies found in Lom茅鈥檚 B猫 lagoon were the result of accidental drownings, witnesses and victims interviewed by Amnesty point to lethal force, including bullet wounds, as the true cause of death in multiple cases. 鈥 The statement also mentioned 鈥榖ullet holes in three bodies found in the B猫 lagoon on 27 June [鈥 and testimonies of local residents who reported gunshots鈥 鈥, the read the report of Amnesty International.鈥淭hese past days, we spoke with people who say that men in uniform, identified as members of the security forces, committed unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, acts of torture and other ill-treatment, and several abductions. These cases must urgently be subject to independent and transparent investigations,鈥 said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty鈥檚 Acting Regional Director for West and Central Africa.At least 13 out of 18 people interviewed reported illegal use of force and violence by state actors or suspected militiamen. One resident of Av茅nou recounted: 鈥淥n June 30, everything was quiet. Suddenly, three pickups and a car entered our street at high speed. Men broke into our house, forced us outside, made us kneel and aimed their guns at us before beating us. They said they would return.鈥滱 38-year-old man stated: 鈥淥n June 26, around 3 p.m., I was attending a protest in Atti茅gou when a group of soldiers attacked me. They beat me so badly I lost consciousness.鈥滱 17-year-old boy told Amnesty he was arrested by gendarmes on June 26 and detained for five days: 鈥淭hey made us kneel with arms raised. If we lowered them, we were whipped. We only drank one water sachet the whole day.鈥 He still suffers back pain and reported over 40 people were detained alongside him.On June 27, two children鈥檚 bodies were retrieved from the lagoon. One was a 16-year-old whose parents say security forces had stormed their neighborhood with tear gas the previous day. Civil society groups documented at least seven deaths, with several victims showing signs of beatings and gunshot wounds.
鈥淲e must uncover the truth about these deaths and the missing persons. Those detained for exercising freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must be released,鈥 said Fabien Offner, Amnesty鈥檚 researcher for West and Central Africa.Despite this, the Togolese government maintains that the deaths were due to drowning, based on so-called 鈥渇orensic results.鈥 However, no autopsy report has been made public.