In May 2012, a law was passed requiring prior notification of public demonstrations. In the same year, security forces used excessive force to disperse a number of demonstrators, and the head of the ANC was subjected to house arrest to keep him from taking part in protests. Student activists connected to the Mouvement pour l'épanouissement des étudiants togolais (Movement for the development of Togolese students, MEET) were arrested, wounded by rubber bullets, and generally abused.
