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Censored
March 13
Mauritanie Nouvelles, CENSORED
The March 17 issue of the independent weekly Mauritanie Nouvelles was seized by order of the Ministry of the Interior. No official explanation for the seizure was given to the paper. The Ministry of the Interior also ordered the weekly's March 24 issue seized, offering no explanation.
April 9
Mauritanie Nouvelles, CENSORED
The Ministry of the Interior ordered the independent weekly Mauritanie Nouvelles suspended for three months. The magazine was informed that it was suspended because it "sowed subversion and harmed the interests of the country."
September 16
Teissir, CENSORED
The Ministry of the Interior confiscated issues of the weekly Teissir in accordance with Article 11 of the press law. The authorities provided no official reason for the confiscation, but some Mauritanian journalists speculated that an article on political rivalries in the government was the cause.
October 26
Le Calme, CENSORED
The Ministry of the Interior banned the weekly Le Calme for three months under Article 11 of the press law. Authorities charged the paper with "harming state interests" but cited no specific reason for the ban. Observers in Mauritania suspect that the governmentÕs move might be connected to an article Le Calme published the previous week calling for the cancellation of recent legislative election results.
December 9
La Tribune, CENSORED
Authorities banned the Dec. 9 edition of the independent weekly La Tribune, invoking Article 11 of the press law. The government offered no official reason for its action, although the newspaper's editor believed that the paper was banned because of an article on slavery in Mauritania.
December 18
Al-Akhbar, CENSORED
Authorities confiscated issues of the Dec. 15 edition of the Arabic-language weekly Al-Akhbar, using Article 11 of the press law. No official reason was given for the confiscation, although journalists suspect that it was because of an article about prostitution in the capital, Nouakchott.
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