CNA Staff, Apr 24, 2020 / 10:31 am
The bishops of Togo called for peace and respect for the rights of citizens after the violent arrest of an opposition leader from his home on Tuesday.
"[E]very citizen has the right and duty to express his/her disapproval in the face of manifest injustice and oppression," the Catholic bishops of Togo said in a statement, according to English Africa Service.
"The physical violence and other inhuman and degrading treatment inflicted on citizens on this occasion is, therefore, a negation of their rights and freedoms…the Conference of Bishops denounces and condemns them, and calls on authorities to exercise restraint."
In their statement, the bishops said they were dismayed to learn that opposition leader Agbeyome Kodjo had been arrested at his home this week, "in circumstances of brutality and violence perpetrated by the Defence and Security Forces."