Cairo: 27 January 2020

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) condemned today the arrest of journalist Sheikh Ould El Mami by the Mauritanian authorities yesterday, seemingly in connection to publishing some videos criticizing Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and some of his government’s members.

On Sunday, 26 January 2020, the Mauritanian security forces arrested journalist Sheikh Ould El Mami from his house in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania and took him to an unknown location. His arrest is believed to be related to being accused of reading a text from a series of audio-visual recordings critical of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.

Sheikh Ould El Mami’s arrest came as part of an arrest campaign launched by the security forces to arrest those responsible for publishing “Al-Nahj” episodes that have gone viral on social media in recent days criticizing President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and people close to him.

Previously, on 22 January 2020, State Security officers arrested Mauritanian TV director Abdou Ould Tajeddine, while he was covering a conference convened in the Almoravid (Al-Murabitun) Palace in Nouakchott, just one day after the arrest of young blogger Mohamed Ali Abdel Aziz for being accused of “having used a computer program to produce and distribute (publish) recordings containing insults and defamation”.

It is worth mentioning that the Mauritanian Interior Ministry issued a statement on January 21, stating that it blogger Mohamed Ali Abdel-Aziz is suspected of using a computer program to produce and publish recordings that include “insults and incitement to racism and hatred”.

ANHRI said: “Criticizing the ruler falls within the framework of the right to freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed by the Mauritanian constitution and international treaties. The Mauritanian authorities must know that criticizing the ruler is something permissible, and is rather required in democratic societies in order to give citizens the opportunity to exercise their oversight responsibility for state authorities’ performance and expose any administrative corruption to correct the nation’s development path”.

ANHRI called on the Mauritanian authorities to release journalist Sheikh Ould El Mami, cameraman and TV director Abdou Ould Tajeddine, and young blogger Mohamed Ali Abdel Aziz, to put an end to the prosecution of social media activists, and to enable citizens to unconditionally exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression.