Togo Provisionally Releases French Filmmakers and Local Fixer After Detention

Two French documentary filmmakers and their Togolese collaborator have been granted provisional release in Togo, over a month after their arrest in the northern region while filming a television program. The trio denies allegations of making false statements and procedural irregularities related to their filming assignment.

Gaël Mocaër, Sebastian Perez Pezzani, and their Togolese fixer, Fred Vedomey, were arrested on July 27 while producing an episode of Les Routes de l’impossible, a documentary series broadcast by the French public broadcaster France Télévisions.

Perez Pezzani, who had fallen ill, was the first to be released under judicial supervision in late August to receive medical treatment in the capital, Lomé, though his passport was confiscated. Mocaër and Vedomey were freed late Tuesday. As of Wednesday, details regarding any conditions or restrictions attached to their provisional release remained unclear.

Togolese authorities had argued that the justice system possessed “serious evidence” against the men, citing “several irregularities in the preparation and execution” of their assignment. The filmmakers were also accused of using a drone in northern Togo, a region experiencing heightened security concerns due to repeated jihadist attacks.

The three men reject these accusations. Their production company, Tony Comiti Productions, maintains that the team possessed the necessary filming paperwork. According to French daily Le Monde, the documentary had received official filming authorization from Togo’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Arts on June 19, in Vedomey’s name. However, Togolese government officials alleged that the French filmmakers failed to apply for proper press accreditation and that the team did not identify themselves as journalists or a film crew. They were also accused of concealing their accommodation and filming in unauthorized locations—claims the filmmakers and their lawyer, Martial Akakpo, have disputed.

Press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomed the news of their release, expressing hope that Mocaër and Perez Pezzani would soon return to France to reunite with their families. The release comes amid ongoing tensions, as Togo suspended French broadcasters RFI and France 24 in June 2025 over allegations of biased reporting during protests.

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