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Mauritania: Acquital and freeing of detainees

06 يونيو 2007
Alkarama for Human Rights has learned that on 5 June 2007, the criminal tribunal of Nouakchott acquitted 21 people who had been arrested between April and June 2005 and were held secretly for many weeks.  During this period the detainees suffered serious torture.  While three of them escaped prison, eight were provisionally freed on 27 July 2006 and the remaining ten were left in detention until being freed today.
On 12 June 2006, Alkarama had asked the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for urgent action on the 18 people kept in arbitrary detention.  For some of them, Alkarama had also called upon the Special Rapporteur on Torture and sent an urgent appeal to the Mauritanian government.
Alkarama had also informed the President of the Council of the European Union, the President of the European Parliament, and the President of the European Commission of this wave of arrests followed by the arbitrary detention and torture of those arrested.
The wave of arrests between April and June 2005 hit opposition personalities, presidents of associations, professors, a lawyer, a journalist, each of a variety of political currents, along with simple citizens known for having expressed points of view critical of government policy.  These arrests clearly demonstrated the authorities’ desire to stamp out every desire for opposition or form of expression without distinction, and all observers recognised its arbitrary character.
The following people were arrested:
Mohamed Sidiya Ould Ajdoud, born 1959, professor, arrested on 25 April 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
Abdellah Ould Ahmed Ould Aminou, born 1966, professor and imam, arrested on 25 April 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
Mohamed Mouhid Ould Mohamed Abdelhaq, born 1976, teacher and imam, arrested on 25 April 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
Mohamed Ould Ahmed Ould Sid Ahmed, nicknamed “Al Chaer”, born 1968, poet and Doctor of Literature, arrested on 21 April 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
Ahmed Ould El Kowri, born 1972, professor, arrested on 25 April 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  1. Mohamed Mahfoud Ould Ahmed, born 1965, professor, arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  2. Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Salek, born 1972, driver, arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  3. Mohamed Al Amine Ould Hassen, born 1984, university student, arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  4. Mohamed Hassen Ould Mohamed Abderrahmane, born 1981, graphic artist, , arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  5. Mohamed Ould Abdelwadoud, born 1976, university student, arrested on 3 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  6. Ahmed Ould Mohamed Abdellah, born 1964, professor, arrested on 3 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  7. Mohamed Al Amine Ould Salek, born 1971, professor, arrested on 3 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  8. Sidi Mohamed Ould Ahmed Vall, born 1964, professor and imam, arrested on 6 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  9. Ahmed Ould Hine Ould Mouloud, born 1978, student of religious sciences, arrested on 6 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  10. Abderahmane Ould El Ghouth, born 1979, student of religious sciences, arrested on 6 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  11. Sid Ould Abah Al Imam, born 1980, sailor, arrested on 6 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  12. Ismail Aissa, born 16 January 1972, secondary school teacher and Master’s student in Law, of Algerian nationality but permanently resident in Mauritania, arrested on 29 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  13. Abdelmadjid Belbachir, born 1974, student of religious sciences, of Algerian nationality but permanently resident in Mauritania, arrested on 29 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
  14. Hamad Ould Mohamed Khirou
  15. Al Khadim Ould Al-Saman
  16. Sidi Ould Hait

All of these were secretly detained for 20 to 44 days, in some cases at the Nouakchott Police School, in others at the El Mina Commissariat No. 2, and suffered serious torture and particularly inhuman and degrading treatment.
To justify this wave of repression, the government had claimed that these people had been arrested in connection with a matter concerning the State’s internal security.  They were accused of belonging to an extremist group working outside of any legal framework, calling for violence, and using mosques for sectarian political propaganda.
On 5 August 2005, the army took power and a “Military Council for Justice and Democracy”, denouncing the repressive practices of the previous regime, promised democratic elections and swore “to put an end to the previous regime’s totalitarian practices from which the people have suffered so much these last years.”
The new regime explicitly referred to the numerous violations of human rights and in particular to the previous month’s arrests denounced unanimously by all human rights NGOs, thus de facto recognising these arrests’ arbitrary character.
In fact, since September 2005, many people arrested at the same time, in the same circumstances and with the same charges as Alkarama’s clients, were freed through an amnesty measure.  But for unknown reasons, the people mentioned above did not benefit from this measure.
After having vainly insisted that their clients should be brought before a court, the lawyers demanded that they be provisionally released.  The investigating magistrate in place accepted these requests and ordered their provisional release by an order dated 14 September 2005.  The prosecutors appealed but the Nouakchott Court’s chambre d’accusation issued a final judgement confirming the order to release them.
Despite these decisions, the detainees have not been freed.  The Nouakchott court prosecutor has opposed this by introducing an appeal, even though Mauritanian internal law ordains that a final judgement is binding.
Keeping these people detained can only be interpreted as a grave violation of their fundamental rights, and qualifies as arbitrary detention.
On 27 July 2006, 8 of the 18 detainees were released from Nouakchott civil prison, namely:
-    Mohamed Sidiya Ould Ajdoud, born 1959, professor, arrested 25 April 2005.
-    Abdellah Ould Ahmed Ould Aminou, born 1966, professor and imam, arrested 25 April 2005.
-    Mohamed Ould Ahmed Ould Sid Ahmed, nicknamed “Al Chaer”, born 1968, poet and Doctor of Literature, arrested on 21 April 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
-    Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Salek, born 1972, driver, arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
-    Mohamed Al Amine Ould Hassen, born 1984, university student, arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
-    Mohamed Hassen Ould Mohamed Abderrahmane, born 1981, graphic artist, , arrested on 2 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
-    Ahmed Ould Mohamed Abdellah, born 1964, professor, arrested on 3 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
-    Mohamed Al Amine Ould Salek, born 1971, professor, arrested on 3 May 2005, currently detained in Nouakchott civil prison.
The others remained in detention up to 5 June 2007, when all of them, detained or provisionally freed, were acquitted by the Nouakchott court.  As for the three who escaped prison, two were acquitted while the third was condemned in absentia to a prison term of two years.

Alkarama for Human Rights, 6 June 2007

Mauritania
Torture
Arbitrary Detention
Human Rights Defenders