Mauritania / Middle East & North Africa

  

Ten years after the Arab Spring, the region’s media faces grave threats. Here are the top press freedom trends

In early February 2011, Alaa Abdelfattah was in Egypt’s Tahrir Square, documenting and participating in the nascent pro-democracy uprising that would topple the government and transform the country and the region. Today, he is in prison on anti-state and false news charges, which his family believes are partly retaliatory for his work. Abdelfattah is one of…

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Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (right) casts his ballot on June 22, 2019, at a polling station in Nouakchott during the presidential election. Mauritania freed blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, who had been imprisoned since 2014, on July 29, 2019. (AFP/Sia Kambou)

Mauritania finally frees blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed

Washington D.C., July 30, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed relief that Mauritanian blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed is free and safely out of the country. Mohamed was released yesterday and left Mauritania, according to news reports, citing his lawyer and official government news sources.

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Security forces are seen on June 22 in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Two journalists have been arrested and the internet has been cut throughout the country following elections on June 22. (AFP/Sia Kambou)

Two journalists arrested, internet shut down amid disputed election in Mauritania

New York, July 3, 2019 — Mauritanian authorities should immediately release journalists Seydi Moussa Camara and Ahmedou Ould al-Wadea, restore internet access throughout the country, and allow journalists to report on the results of the country’s presidential elections without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Soldiers of the Mauritanian Army are pictured on an off-road vehicle on November 19, 2018. Two bloggers have been detained in the country on false news charges. (Thomas Samson/AFP)

Mauritania jails bloggers Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou on false news charges

New York, March 28, 2019 — Mauritanian authorities should immediately release bloggers Abderrahmane Weddady and Cheikh Ould Jiddou and stop detaining journalists on false news charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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CPJ calls on Mauritania government to release blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed

CPJ calls on Mohamedoun Daddah, Mauritania’s ambassador to the United States, to meet to discuss the wrongful imprisonment of blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, who was scheduled to be released in late 2017.

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In Mauritania, 2 journalists jailed for a week on criminal defamation complaint

The editor-chief and the publisher, respectively, of two independent Mauritanian news websites were arrested on August 8, 2018, and held for a week on criminal defamation charges, according to news reports. They were released on bail August 15, according to the reports.

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Mauritania’s president must ensure blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed regains his freedom

The Committee to Protect Journalists and other organizations write to the president of Mauritania urging him to ensure that blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed regains his freedom.

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Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz addresses the Sustainable Development Summit Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters. Protesters have called for President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to punish freelance blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed for an article he wrote that the protesters claim is blasphemous. (AP/Frank Franklin II)

Mauritanian authorities change legal code, could retry Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed

New York, November 20, 2017–Mauritanian authorities on November 16 approved an amendment to the country’s penal code that could allow courts to retroactively retry freelance blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, who was convicted of blasphemy in 2014, and potentially re-sentence him to death, the state-owned news agency AMI and Agence France-Pressereported. The Committee to Protect…

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A woman casts her vote in Mauritania's referendum in August 2017. Journalists reporting critically on the referendum and the government face harassment. (STR/AFP)

Mauritania cracks down on critical press after referendum

The Mauritanian Radio and Television Broadcast Authority today ordered Mauritania’s five privately owned news stations to shut down for “failing to fulfil their financial agreements” with the country’s broadcast regulator, local media reported.

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CPJ calls on Mauritania to release blogger who faces death penalty

In a joint letter, CPJ calls on Mauritania’s President to help secure the release of blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, also known as Mohamed Ould M’Kaitir. Mauritania’s Supreme Court is due to review Mohamed’s case on November 15. The blogger faces the death penalty.

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