Benin: here’s why Thibaut Ogou is being held in the Cotonou civil prison
The activist and civil society actor Thibaut Ogou has been placed under provisional detention on Friday, August 14, 2026, following his presentation to the special prosecutor at the Court of Repression of Economic Crimes and Terrorism (CRIET).
Arrested a few days earlier by law enforcement in Lokossa, he has been transferred to the civil prison in Cotonou.
This new incarceration, according to Libre Express, stems from a procedure opened for an alleged attempt of fraud against a detainee. The first hearing before the correctional chamber of CRIET is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, 2026, at which the charges and elements of the case will be examined, knowing that the accused remains entitled to the presumption of innocence until a final judgment is rendered.
As a reminder, Thibaut Ogou was released in June 2024 after serving a 38-month prison sentence along with a fine of 2 million CFA francs, imposed by CRIET on May 10, 2024, in the case related to the electoral violence of 2021.
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