The two French directors who were arrested at the end of July in Togo, where they are being prosecuted for "false declarations", were authorized to leave the territory of this West African country following the provisional release which was granted to them, the Quai d'Orsay announced on Thursday. They will return to France this Thursday morning, according to a diplomatic source.
Published on: 03/09/2026 - 07:53 Modified on: 03/09/2026 - 07:55
They were arrested on July 27 in northern Togo where they were filming a documentary for France Télévisions. The two French directors Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani, prosecuted in this West African country for "false statements", will return to France this Thursday morning, a diplomatic source told AFP.
“They will be on French territory in the coming hours,” said this source.
They had been authorized to leave the territory of this West African country following the provisional freedom which was granted to them, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier.
“Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani, directors arrested in Togo on July 27, 2026, were served with a decision for provisional release on September 1, with authorization to leave the territory,” announced the spokesperson for the Quai d’Orsay in a press release.
Pascal Confavreux did not then specify when their return would be effective.
“It is a great relief for their loved ones and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, which was fully mobilized for this outcome,” he added.
Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani, as well as their Togolese collaborator Fred Vedomey, were arrested while they were filming an episode of the show "Les routes de l'impossible", a documentary series broadcast on France Télévisions. The three men were placed in detention in Lomé, prosecuted for “false declarations”.
“Several irregularities” according to Lomé
At the end of August, the Togolese justice system released Sebastian Perez Pezzani, who is ill, under judicial supervision, in particular to receive treatment in Lomé. His passport had been confiscated.
Tuesday evening, several Togolese media had indicated that provisional freedom had been granted to Gaël Mocaër and Fred Vedomey, information confirmed to AFP on Wednesday morning by their lawyer Martial Akakpo.
No details had until now been revealed on the conditions and possible restrictions linked to their provisional release regime, in particular concerning the possibility of leaving Togolese territory.
The three men are charged with “false statements”, facts that they do not recognize, according to their lawyer Martial Akakpo.
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At the end of August, Lomé indicated that the justice system had “serious evidence” against them.
The Togolese authorities had mentioned "several irregularities in the preparation and execution" of their mission and criticized the directors in particular for not having had the appropriate authorizations, which their production company refutes, which assures that the three men were in good standing.
Togolese justice also accuses the three men of having used a drone, particularly in the north of the country, a region where the security situation is tense.
Since the end of 2021, the far north of Togo has been plagued by incursions by jihadists present on the other side of the border, in Burkina Faso undermined by attacks by groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
With AFP
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