SECTOR 1 1.2 The right to freedom of expression is practised and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their rights without fear. In Togo, there is genuine freedom of expression. Citizens are free to say what they think. One of the panellists states that nothing prevents citizens from speaking their minds, and adds that it has been generally noted that citizens express themselves quite freely in Togo, as long as they are ready to deal with the consequences. In spite of its satisfaction as to the reality of freedom of expression, the panel nevertheless acknowledges that there are restrictions. It considers that there are cases where the authorities have had to crack down, preventing citizens, including journalists, from expressing themselves. For instance, a journalist had to suffer the consequences of exercising his right to freedom of expression, when he was pursued through the Adidogomé quarter by two unknown assailants. According to the panellists, there are cogent reasons to assume that the Government was behind the threats against the journalist. But others consider that the Government is not always behind such reprisals. One of the panel members argues that citizens sometimes practice self-censorship for fear that another form of retribution might be used to silence them. By way of example, he says that civil servants who wish to enjoy their right to freedom of expression are not fired from public service, but are increasingly assigned to posts where there is no possibility of managing projects of any significance. This means that dissidents are side-lined or assigned to the provinces. In a TVT (Togolese Television, a state-owned television) broadcast, just mentioning the fact that there was a strike in the civil service in his newspaper report, might cause trouble for the author. Even if the freedom of press does exist in a general way, journalists must be prepared to face the consequences. Indeed, once legislation has provided that journalists cannot be sent to prison for what they write, some citizens, who feel threatened by the media, consider that they have to administer justice themselves for the wrongs they think they have suffered. Moreover, according to the panel, this phenomenon is prevalent in society as a whole. A public radio station was compelled to conceal a political leader, because, although he had been invited to express his opinion during a political TV show, he had allegedly made a comment about the leader of another political party whose supporters considered his remarks to be offensive. They held a mass demonstration in front of the radio station in order to lynch him. A member of the panel stated that he had received repeated calls from unknown people who felt they had to criticize the perspective of a television show he had hosted. Expressing ones opinions in the media can in fact, make trouble. There 70 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER togo 2017