Mauritania: Journalist, Hanevy Ould Dahah, arbitrarily detained after publishing article
Alkarama submitted his case to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on 21 January 2010, requesting its intervention with the Mauritanian authorities in order that Mr Ould Dahah be released.
On 18 June 2008, he was arrested under orders by the public prosecutor's office, by men in civilian clothing who neglected to state the reasons for his arrests in absence of a judicial warrant. He was handcuffed and taken to the local police station.
His arrest came after a penal complaint was filed by presidential candidate Ibrahima Moctar Sarr, party chairman AJD / MR (Alliance for Justice and Democracy / Movement for Renovation), in retaliation to an article published on Taqadoumy's website which detailed the source of his sudden rise to riches.
After being placed in custody, Mr Ould Dahah was refused visitations rights, and left without his family or lawyer. He was eventually brought before Nouakchott's public prosecutor's office on 24 June 2009 where he was accused of "civil and moral indecency" and consequently remanded.
He was sentenced 19 August 2009 to 6 months imprisonment by the Magistrate's Court based on the same charge and then detained Dar Naim prison in Nouakchott. He should have been released on 24 December 2009 at the end of his period of lawful imprisonment. However, the judicial authorities refused to comment on the queries of Mr Ould Dahah's defense lawyers or give an explanation as to why he remains in detention after having served his full prison sentence.
In protest against his continued detention without legal basis, Mr Ould Dahah began a hunger sstrike, which he only recently broke on 13 January 2010 due to his deteriorating health and since he was able to see his family.
On 14 January 2010, the Supreme Court of Mauritania, based on a cassation appeal instigated by the public prosecutor's office against the decision on 19 August 2009, overturned the decision and decided to refer the accused before the same court for another trial.
The country's highest court should have proven the arbitrary detention nature of Mr Ould Dahah's arrest without any legal basis and ordered his immediate release. The court's abstention confirms the political nature of this ordeal. The new trial date has still yet to be confirmed by the competent judicial authority, thus Mr Ould Dahah has been arbitrarily detained for more than one months.
Alkarama asks that Mr Ould Dahah be immediately released and requests the Working Group to note that this arbitrary detention is in direct violation of Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on freedom of expression.