Claude Henri Améganvi (born 12 August 1953,
Lomé
Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 ) is a
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
lese
Trotskyist
Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
and former
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
. An
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
by training, in 1977 he joined the exile student movement in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in opposition to the one-party dictatorship of
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Eyadéma Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was a Togolese military officer and politician who served as the third president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immed ...
. He helped found the
Organisation of Togolese Workers for Democracy (OTTD) in 1988. He returned to Togo in 1991 during a period of political liberalisation and was a delegate to the
National Conference and subsequently the
High Council of the Republic (the transitional parliament). In December 1991 he went into exile again, this time in
Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
, until 1997. At the foundation of the
Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
(PT) in 1998, Améganvi was selected national coordinator. He remained a strong critic of the regimes of Eyadéma and his son
. In September 2002, he was sentenced to four months in prison for defamation; he allegedly provided a Togolese newspaper the unsubstantiated claim that ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine had named President Eyadéma one of the world's wealthiest people. The sentence was increased to six months, and Améganvi was released in February 2003.
References
''Libre Tribune''(online publication)
Amnesty International report(US Department of State)
1953 births
Living people
20th-century Togolese politicians
Workers' Party (Togo) politicians
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