Concern is mounting in Togo over the health of political detainees at Lomé Civil Prison, where a hunger strike has reportedly grown to 39 participants. The alert was raised in a statement dated December 17 by the Togo Rights & Freedom Network – UK, which announced that two additional detainees, Dina Massahoudou and socially engaged artist Wattara Fadel, had joined the protest.
According to the organization, Wattara Fadel declared his participation while hospitalized at Sylvanus Olympio University Hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment. The group describes the situation as a “serious humanitarian and political crisis,” noting that some detainees have been refusing food for more than 34 days.
Reports cited by the network indicate significant deterioration in the strikers’ health, including severe weight loss, repeated fainting episodes, and cardiac complications. Despite these conditions, the detainees are said to be maintaining what the organization characterizes as “clear and non-negotiable” demands.
These demands include the release of political prisoners, respect for judicial decisions, effective enforcement of human rights protections, and guaranteed access to independent medical care. The statement also raises concerns about alleged barriers to treatment, such as delays in transferring detainees to hospitals and pressure exerted on them to abandon the hunger strike. Such practices, the group argues, pose serious risks to the detainees’ rights to health and life.
The Togo Rights & Freedom Network – UK is calling on Togolese authorities to ensure immediate and unhindered access to medical care and to address what it describes as arbitrary detentions. It has also appealed to international institutions, including the United Nations and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to intervene.
Last month, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor urged the authorities to take steps to protect the health of the detainees. However, according to the organization, no concrete measures have yet been announced by the government. Although President Faure Gnassingbé has recently mentioned the possibility of clemency for elderly or seriously ill prisoners, no specific action linked to the ongoing hunger strike has been confirmed.