Togo releases Frenchman detained over protests: foreign ministry

A Frenchman detained last year in Togo over alleged involvement in anti-government protests arrived back in France on Thursday after his release, the French foreign ministry said.

Steeve Rouyar, a 44-year-old father of two originally from Guadeloupe, had been living in the west African nation since late 2024 when he was arrested in June.

The prosecutor's office in the capital Lome said he was one of around 50 protesters arrested on June 6 during a rare anti-government demonstration in Togo, led with an iron fist by Faure Gnassingbe for the past two decades.

"A decision by the Togolese judiciary" allowed his release, the French foreign ministry said, without providing further details.

The demonstrations began in response to calls for civil disobedience sent out on social media by the June 6 Movement (M66), whose name refers to the longtime Togolese leader's birthday and the day the protests began.

A source following the case, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak to the press, told AFP in September that Rouyar had been accused of "undermining state security", a charge that can be punished with two to three decades in jail.

He was also accused of helping make flyers, the source said.

The Togolese government said on Wednesday that Gnassingbe has pardoned 1,511 prisoners, but there was no immediate list of the names of those released. Such pardons are common at the end of the year.