Two French documentary filmmakers and their Togolese colleague are free again after more than a month in detention. However, the case against them is not yet closed.

In July, Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani were travelling in northern Togo with their fixer Fred Vedomey to film an episode of the travel series "Les Routes de l'impossible" for the French broadcaster France 5. On 27 July, the three were arrested in Binah in the Kara region for entering an area classified as a restricted zone due to terrorist activity. After police reviewed their footage, they were initially released, but were detained again shortly afterwards. They were confined to a hotel for around eight days, and their passports and equipment were seized.

On 17 August, the public prosecutor in Lomé charged them with making "false statements", alleging that the filmmakers had lacked the necessary authorisation for their work. The production company denies this and insists that all permits were in place. Mocaër and Vedomey were remanded in custody, while Perez Pezzani was placed under house arrest for health reasons. Organisations such as Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists called for their release.

On 1 September, a court ordered their provisional release, and the two Frenchmen were able to return home shortly afterwards. The case, however, remains ongoing.