Togo Holds French Filmmakers in Jail Over Immigration Claims

Two French filmmakers and their Togolese helper have been locked up in the West African country of Togo for more than three weeks. A media freedom group called Reporters Without Borders says the men were charged with making 'false declarations' when they entered the country. The group is demanding that the government release them right away.

The filmmakers are named Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani. Their local helper, known as a 'fixer,' is Fred Vedomey. The three were formally placed in pretrial detention on a Monday, meaning they are being held in jail while they wait for a trial that has not yet started. Reporters Without Borders, which goes by the acronym RSF, says the detention is unfair and called for the men to be freed immediately.

Mocaër and Perez Pezzani were making a documentary — a type of film about real events — for a French public television network. Police arrested all three men on July 27 in the city of Kara, in northern Togo. RSF says that after a brief release on July 30, police rearrested the crew, took away their equipment, and moved them to Togo's capital city, Lomé. RSF also said that one of the filmmakers, Perez Pezzani, has serious health problems and needs medical attention right away.

There is a dispute about whether the filmmakers had the right paperwork to film in Togo. RSF says the crew applied for work visas and got permission from Togo's Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts. But Togo's Culture Minister Isaac Tchiakpé denied that, telling the Associated Press, 'They would not have been detained if they had had the proper authorizations and followed the required procedures.' Togo's media regulator also said it never received a request for filming credentials from the crew or their television network.

The arrests are happening at a tense time between Togo and France. In June 2025, Togo suspended two major French news outlets — Radio France Internationale and France 24 — for three months. The government accused them of reporting inaccurately and unfairly about protests against Togo's leader, Faure Gnassingbé. These actions show a growing distance between Togo and its former close partner, France.

Togo has also been building stronger ties with Russia and with nearby countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. All three of those countries are run by military governments and have pushed out French troops. Togo and Russia signed a military cooperation deal last year that includes joint military exercises and training. Northern Togo — where the filmmakers were arrested — has also faced attacks from armed groups connected to al-Qaida and the Islamic State, making it a region governments watch very closely.