A new penal code was adopted in Togo by the Parliament this 3 November 2015. While waiting for the promulgation by the Head of State, the text is making waves for reinstating prison sentences for journalists.

Indeed, article 497 of the Code makes provision for up to 2 years for some violations. The text indicates: “The publication, broadcast or reproduction, through any means, of false news, fabrications, forgeries or deceitful information attributed to third parties when, done in bad faith, breaches the public peace, or is susceptible of breaching it, will be punished by a prison sentence of 6 months to 2 years and a fine of FCFA 500,000 to FCFA 2 million or one of these two sentences”.

These new provisions end 10 years of decriminalisation of violations of the press. Indeed, the Press and Communication Code makes only makes provision for fines up to FCFA 2,000,000 or the suspension of the media company committing such violations or reproducing contents from a foreign media having committed these crimes. Repeat offences will be punished by twice the maximum sentence.

Many journalists’ organisations have denounced the new penal code which article 497 applies to all citizens in general. In addition to prison sentences, magistrates have been given room to judge whether any false news is susceptible of disturbing the peace.

“This would lead to a fear of intolerable regression in terms of freedom of the press”, the General Secretary of the Union of Independent Journalists of Togo (UJIT), Patricia Adjissekou, declared when interviewed by the BBC. “We will lobby or plead in order for our press code to come through and no journalist to be imprisoned”, she added.