Mauritania: Veiled women banned from courtroom

May 19th, 2010

Security forces in Mauritania have banned veiled women from entering a courtroom where a terrorism case is being heard. Veiled women were also prevented from visiting the 20 defendants, who are accused of killing four French tourists in 2007 and attacking the Israeli embassy in 2008.

Jailed Mauritian editor freed under pardon

March 5th, 2010

The editor of the Mauritanian website Taqadoumy has been freed from a two-year jail sentence for violating public decency, inciting revolt and “criminal publication”. Hanevy Ould Dehah was pardoned by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania’s president Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz in honour of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday just weeks into his prison term. Dehah was originally arrested on 18 June 2009 following a complaint from Ibrahim Sarr, head of the opposition Alliance for Justice and Democracy Movement party, over an article detailing his personal fortune. He was then retried by the Supreme Court on the same charge last month.

Court orders Mauritanian web editor’s retrial

February 4th, 2010

The editor of Taqadoumy website Hanevy Ould Dehah remains in detention after a  Supreme Court decision to retry him  on a charge of  ’offending public decency’, a crime for which he has already served a six-month sentence.  Commenting on his original trial Reporters Without Borders  said “The sole aim of this disproportionate sentence is to restore the reputation of Ibrahima Moctar Sarr, a politician whose financial dealings Dehah examined.”

Mauritanian journalists arrested for libel

July 24th, 2008

Journalist Mohamed Ould Abdelatif and publisher Mohamed Nema Oumar were arrested on 21 July, accused of libelling three judges. The arrests followed an article in the privately owned Arabic weekly al Hurriya about criminal appeal judges accepting bribes for the release of alleged drug traffickers. The article also claimed the judges were ‘known for their great experience of corruption’. It is the latest in a series of arrests of journalists where the media regulator’s authority was bypassed. (more…)