Togo’s High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) announced the end of its suspension of accreditation for foreign news organizations, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Friday. The decision comes two months after accreditations were suspended, something RSF called “a flagrant violation of press freedom.”

French journalist Thomas Dietrich entered Togo to cover the political unrest in response to a constitutional revision. RSF said that Dietrich already had permission to enter Togo and he sought accreditation from the HAAC on April 15. However,  the HAAC denied him accreditation because he “should have applied for it at the same time as his visa.” Dietrich told RSF that after he was denied accreditation, “hooded men grabbed him, bundled him into a van, blindfolded him, and took him to plainclothes police headquarters, where he was questioned at length and beaten.” RSF says that Dietrich was tried and convicted for illegally entering Togo and consequently was banned from Togo.

The constitutional reform changed Togo’s government from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. Critics saw the constitutional reform as a cover for extending Togo President Faure Gnassingbe’s and his family’s hold on their political power. Gnassingbe has been the President of Togo for nineteen years. He assumed power after the demise of his father and the former President of Togo Gnassingbé Eyadema.

Alfred Bulakali, the Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 Senegal and West Africa, criticized Togo for banning Thomas Dietrich. He stated, “[for] upcoming elections, it is imperative that journalists are allowed to report without fear of persecution or expulsion, ensuring transparency and accountability in the democratic process.”

Voice of America (VOA) reported that the HAAC announced that the suspension of foreign press accreditations will end on June 26.