Togo spoke for the first time on Saturday August 22 about the two French directors and their Togolese collaborator arrested at the end of July and detained since.
In a press release, the Ministers of Security and Justice affirm that justice had “serious and consistent evidence” against Gaël Mocaër, Sebastian Perez Pezzani and Fred Vedomey, arrested on July 27 while they were filming an episode of the show “Les routes de l’impossible”, a documentary series broadcast on France Télévisions.
According to their lawyer, they do not recognize the facts with which they are accused, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) once again calls for their release “without delay”.
Togolese justice accuses the team in particular of having used a drone in areas “subject to a particular security sensitivity regime”, notably the Savanes region (far north), placed under a state of emergency since 2022 due to jihadist threats.
“The investigating authorities have noted the existence of serious and consistent evidence likely to justify the opening of proceedings on the charge of false declarations,” maintains the press release.
Since the end of 2021, the far north of Togo has been plagued by incursions by jihadists present on the other side of the border, in Burkina Faso, undermined by attacks by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
The ministries also explain that the three men “relyed on an authorization issued by the ministry responsible for Tourism”, but “this authorization, dated June 19, 2026, had been signed in the sole name of Mr. Vedomey Komi”.
And it was “strictly limited to specific localities which did not cover” in particular the Savanes region.
The government also mentions “several irregularities in the preparation and execution” of the mission, without further details.
The three men were presented to the Lomé public prosecutor’s office on August 17 in the presence of their lawyer, according to the press release.
They are “detained in a safe place, in conditions consistent with international norms and standards”, and “benefit from the assistance of counsel since the stage of the preliminary investigation, from French consular assistance, and have been authorized to communicate with their families”, specifies Lomé.
“Serious health problems”
Contacted on Saturday by AFP, the Togolese lawyer for the three men, Me Martial Akakpo, affirmed that his clients “do not recognize any facts”.
On Wednesday, Patrice Lucchini, the general manager of the company Tony Comiti Productions with which the directors work, affirmed that the team was “in good standing” and that it had “exceeded an area” inadvertently.
Also readRSF calls for the release of two French directors detained in Togo with their collaborator
The three men “acted transparently and took many steps to comply with Togolese regulations: filming authorization obtained in advance, professional nature of the stay declared and filming equipment reported to customs”, declared Saturday in a press release sent to AFP the director general of RSF, Thibaut Bruttin.
“There is nothing to establish that they knowingly made ‘false declarations'”, he added, calling on the Togolese authorities to “release them without delay”.
RSF stressed that Sebastian Perez Pezzani “suffers from serious health problems”, asking Lomé “to authorize his urgent medical evacuation to France”.
The families of the two directors expressed their “immense concern” in an RSF press release on Wednesday.
With AFP
