Mauritania
08.05.03
Urgent Interventions
Mauritania: a wave of religious and politically motivated arrests
Case MRT 080503
Arbitrary arrests / Incommunicado detention / Risk of torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Mauritania.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme and SOS Esclaves Mauritania, both members of the OMCT network, and by an additional reliable source, of a wave of religious and politically motivated arrests that has occurred in Mauritania.
According to the information received, eleven members of the Ba'athist party NOUHOUD were arrested between April 30th and May 3rd, 2003. The arrested party members are:
§ Mohamed Abdallah Ould Eya, a humanities professor and secretary general of the party, arrested at party headquarters at 6:25 pm, on April 30th, 2003;
§ Mohamed El Kory Ould El Arby, party leader responsible for culture, arrested at his home, at 8:00 pm on April 30th;
§ Me Khatry Ould Taleb Jiddou, lawyer, former minister, and party member, arrested at his home at 5:45 pm on April 30th;
§ Horma Ould Mohamed Mahmoud, member of the party leadership, arrested April 30th;
§ Mohamed Radhy Ould Naha, student and associate secretary general of the party, arrested at party headquarters May 1st at 11:00 am;
§ Ahmed Ould Oubeid, professor and party member, arrested at party headquarters May 1st at 11:00 am;
§ Ahmedou Ould Brahim, sales representative and party member, arrested May 1st at 11:00 am at party headquarters;
§ Mohamed Ould Radhy, economist and member of the party leadership, arrested May 1st at 1:00 pm at his home;
§ Cheikhna Ould Hijbou, professor and party member, arrested May 1st at 6:00 pm at the home of Me Khatry Ould Taleb Jiddou;
§ Sidi Ahmed Ould El Kory, member of the party leadership, arrested May 3rd;
§ Ahmed Ould Bah, arrested in Nouadhibout, date unknown.
All of the afore-mentioned persons were reportedly arrested without warrants and without specified charges. They are being detained incommunicado. The police reportedly conducted a search of the NOUHOUD headquarters on April 30th, 2003 at 11:00 pm, without a search warrant, and confiscated member registries. On May 3rd at 11:00 am, the police proceeded to close the party's headquarters.
The same sources reported that Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour, the mayor of a large district in Nouakchott, and a committee member of one of the major opposition parties, le Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques (RFD), was arrested at 6:00 pm on May 4th. Professor Cheikh Mohamed El Hacen Ould Dedew was arrested in Nouadhibout on May 5th at 10:00 am and transferred to Nouakchott, that same day.
According to the information received, religious leaders have also been arbitrarily arrested. Between the 5th and 6th of May eight Imams were arrested at their mosques or homes. The eight arrested Imams, all of whom Imams serve the Nouakchott district, are:
§ Mohamed Lemine Ould El Moustapha, professor at the Imam de Tensouelem College;
§ Mohamed Lemine Ould Ismail, director of studies at Tevragh Zeina secondary school and Imam in Toujounine;
§ Mohamed Ould Doua, Iman in Arafat;
§ Sidina Ould Radhy, also an Imam in Arafat;
§ Hamoud Ould Dhou Nourayne, also an Imam in Arafat;
§ Khaled Ould Isselmou, Imam in Teyarette;
§ Abdarrahmane Ould Sabar, Imam in Ksar;
§ Sidi Amar Ould Cheikhna, also an Imam in Ksar.
The sweeping arrests of religious leaders in Nouakchott comes on the heels of an end-of-April meeting between the Minister of Islamic Affairs (le Ministre de l'orientation islamique) and several hundred Imams. During the meeting the Minister threatened the Imams, insisting that they follow his instructions. The Imams denounced the Minister's demands at their respective Friday May 2nd sermons. The Minister was reportedly fired following these events.
OMCT is seriously concernred by the wave of arbitrary arrests that is occurring in Mauritania, and in particular for the physical and psychological integrity of all the detainees, notably those being detained incommunicado, due to the heightened risk of ill-treatment and/or torture that this entails. OMCT calls on the government of Mauritania to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the detainees, to allow them to receive family visits and have access to legal counsel and medical assistance. OMCT also calls for the immediate release of all detainees in the absence of valid legal charges that are in line with international law, or, if such charges exist, to ensure that they receive a prompt and fair trial.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Mauritania urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned persons;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee that the detainees be granted access to legal representation, family visits and adequate medical assistance where required;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
- Mr. Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, Président de la République, La Présidence, BP 184 Nouakchott, Mauritanie, Fax: 222 525 26 36
- Mr. Dah Ould Abdel Jelil, Ministre de l'Intérieur, Des Postes et Télécommunications, BP 195 Nouakchott, Mauritanie, Fax: 222 525 36 61
- Mr. Lemrabott Sidi Mahmoud Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Ministre de la Justice, Ministère de la Justice, BP 350 Nouakchott, Mauritanie, Fax: 222 525 70 02
Please also write to the embassies of Mauritania in your respective country.
Geneva, May 8th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrests / Incommunicado detention / Risk of torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Mauritania.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme and SOS Esclaves Mauritania, both members of the OMCT network, and by an additional reliable source, of a wave of religious and politically motivated arrests that has occurred in Mauritania.
According to the information received, eleven members of the Ba'athist party NOUHOUD were arrested between April 30th and May 3rd, 2003. The arrested party members are:
§ Mohamed Abdallah Ould Eya, a humanities professor and secretary general of the party, arrested at party headquarters at 6:25 pm, on April 30th, 2003;
§ Mohamed El Kory Ould El Arby, party leader responsible for culture, arrested at his home, at 8:00 pm on April 30th;
§ Me Khatry Ould Taleb Jiddou, lawyer, former minister, and party member, arrested at his home at 5:45 pm on April 30th;
§ Horma Ould Mohamed Mahmoud, member of the party leadership, arrested April 30th;
§ Mohamed Radhy Ould Naha, student and associate secretary general of the party, arrested at party headquarters May 1st at 11:00 am;
§ Ahmed Ould Oubeid, professor and party member, arrested at party headquarters May 1st at 11:00 am;
§ Ahmedou Ould Brahim, sales representative and party member, arrested May 1st at 11:00 am at party headquarters;
§ Mohamed Ould Radhy, economist and member of the party leadership, arrested May 1st at 1:00 pm at his home;
§ Cheikhna Ould Hijbou, professor and party member, arrested May 1st at 6:00 pm at the home of Me Khatry Ould Taleb Jiddou;
§ Sidi Ahmed Ould El Kory, member of the party leadership, arrested May 3rd;
§ Ahmed Ould Bah, arrested in Nouadhibout, date unknown.
All of the afore-mentioned persons were reportedly arrested without warrants and without specified charges. They are being detained incommunicado. The police reportedly conducted a search of the NOUHOUD headquarters on April 30th, 2003 at 11:00 pm, without a search warrant, and confiscated member registries. On May 3rd at 11:00 am, the police proceeded to close the party's headquarters.
The same sources reported that Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour, the mayor of a large district in Nouakchott, and a committee member of one of the major opposition parties, le Rassemblement des Forces Démocratiques (RFD), was arrested at 6:00 pm on May 4th. Professor Cheikh Mohamed El Hacen Ould Dedew was arrested in Nouadhibout on May 5th at 10:00 am and transferred to Nouakchott, that same day.
According to the information received, religious leaders have also been arbitrarily arrested. Between the 5th and 6th of May eight Imams were arrested at their mosques or homes. The eight arrested Imams, all of whom Imams serve the Nouakchott district, are:
§ Mohamed Lemine Ould El Moustapha, professor at the Imam de Tensouelem College;
§ Mohamed Lemine Ould Ismail, director of studies at Tevragh Zeina secondary school and Imam in Toujounine;
§ Mohamed Ould Doua, Iman in Arafat;
§ Sidina Ould Radhy, also an Imam in Arafat;
§ Hamoud Ould Dhou Nourayne, also an Imam in Arafat;
§ Khaled Ould Isselmou, Imam in Teyarette;
§ Abdarrahmane Ould Sabar, Imam in Ksar;
§ Sidi Amar Ould Cheikhna, also an Imam in Ksar.
The sweeping arrests of religious leaders in Nouakchott comes on the heels of an end-of-April meeting between the Minister of Islamic Affairs (le Ministre de l'orientation islamique) and several hundred Imams. During the meeting the Minister threatened the Imams, insisting that they follow his instructions. The Imams denounced the Minister's demands at their respective Friday May 2nd sermons. The Minister was reportedly fired following these events.
OMCT is seriously concernred by the wave of arbitrary arrests that is occurring in Mauritania, and in particular for the physical and psychological integrity of all the detainees, notably those being detained incommunicado, due to the heightened risk of ill-treatment and/or torture that this entails. OMCT calls on the government of Mauritania to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the detainees, to allow them to receive family visits and have access to legal counsel and medical assistance. OMCT also calls for the immediate release of all detainees in the absence of valid legal charges that are in line with international law, or, if such charges exist, to ensure that they receive a prompt and fair trial.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Mauritania urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned persons;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee that the detainees be granted access to legal representation, family visits and adequate medical assistance where required;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
- Mr. Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, Président de la République, La Présidence, BP 184 Nouakchott, Mauritanie, Fax: 222 525 26 36
- Mr. Dah Ould Abdel Jelil, Ministre de l'Intérieur, Des Postes et Télécommunications, BP 195 Nouakchott, Mauritanie, Fax: 222 525 36 61
- Mr. Lemrabott Sidi Mahmoud Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Ministre de la Justice, Ministère de la Justice, BP 350 Nouakchott, Mauritanie, Fax: 222 525 70 02
Please also write to the embassies of Mauritania in your respective country.
Geneva, May 8th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.