Law-enforcement officers visited the residence of Comlan, publisher of the private weekly L’Aurore, and arrested him on charges of distributing false news and endangering public order. At year’s end he was detained at the Lomé headquarters of the Togolese Gendarmerie, pending further inquiry.
On December 15, Comlan’s paper erroneously announced the death of a high-school student at the hands of an anti-riot police squad. Armed with clubs and guns, the officers had raided a Lomé high school to break up a gathering of student activists. A brawl ensued, and a female student collapsed but did not die.
According to local journalists, the student’s supposed death was announced at a press conference held by the student union. However, the student later appeared on national television, saying that she had regained consciousness while in the hospital.