Six more Western Togoland Restoration Front members have been sentenced to hard labour.
The six defendants were sentenced for crimes committed during the group’s attack on police stations in Mepe and Aveyime, including the release of suspects on remand, the theft of police ammunition, and the blockage of Juapong and Sogakope roads.
Five of them were convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to the maximum five-year sentence for their involvement in the activities and membership in the separatist group.
Six others, however, were sentenced differently in a separate trial for their participation in the same activities.
The lawyer for the accused pleaded with the court not to impose a custodial sentence because the accused had been in custody for the entire duration of the trial and had shown remorse for their actions.
The prosecution, on the other hand, objected, claiming that the actions were harmful to the country’s peace and requesting a deterrent sanction.
The court agreed with the prosecution and sentenced the accused to a deterrent sentence.
The first, fourth, fifth, and sixth accused were convicted and sentenced to four years in prison for each count of membership in a prohibited organisation, support for prohibited organisation activities, and attendance at prohibited organisation meetings. However, the sentence must run concurrently.
The second and third accused, on the other hand, were sentenced for being members of a prohibited organisation, stealing, and engaging in unlawful training.
The second accused was sentenced to four years in prison for belonging to a prohibited organisation and six years in prison for stealing police ammunition.
The court sentenced the third accused to four years in prison for membership in a prohibited organisation and two years for illegal training.
The sentences must run at the same time.
