Amnesty International Report 2006 - Mauritania

Dozens of people, including prisoners of conscience, were detained during the year. Scores of people arrested in connection with alleged plots to overthrow the government in previous years were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment after an unfair trial. All were released under a general amnesty announced in September following a coup the previous month that toppled the President. There were reports of torture, none of which appeared to have been independently investigated. The practice of slavery persisted.

Background

In August a bloodless military coup headed by Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall deposed President Maaouyia Ould Taya while he was in Saudi Arabia. President Taya had been in office since 1984. The coup was welcomed by most Mauritanians but was condemned by the international community, including the UN and the African Union (AU). A Military Council for Justice and Democracy led by the new President issued a charter for governing the country. An interim government was formed charged with organizing legislative and presidential elections within two years. In September President Vall granted a general amnesty for political prisoners.

Prisoners of conscience

Dozens of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were detained. Some were held for months before being provisionally released. Others were detained incommunicado at an unknown location in the capital, Nouakchott. Several arrests appeared to be part of a campaign of intimidation against religious figures and the opposition.

• Jemil Ould Mansour and two other prisoners were provisionally released from Nouakchott central prison in February. They were prisoners of conscience, detained solely for their religious beliefs and peaceful political activities. They had been detained in November 2004 and held incommunicado for 14 days at an unknown place on charges of "complicity in fabrication and forgery of documents that might cause a disturbance of public order and prejudice internal and external security". They were then transferred to Nouakchott civil prison.

• Cheick Mohamed El Hacen Ould Dedew and 20 other people, who were arrested between April and July, were provisionally released in August after a court dismissed the case against them. They were held incommunicado at an unknown location in Nouakchott. The police stated that the 21 men were accused of "planning acts of terrorism" and of being in contact with a group allied to al-Qa'ida.

Another group of 21 political detainees, including Abdallahi Ould Eminou and two Algerian nationals, were still detained at the end of the year. The solicitor general appealed against a court decision to release them.

Unfair trial

In February about 100 civilians and military officers, including 50 tried in absentia, were convicted of threatening the security of the state in connection with a failed coup in June 2003 and alleged coup plots in August and September 2004. They were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment ranging from 18 months to life. They were among 195 defendants whose trial began in November 2004 before the criminal court in Ouad Naga. The rest were acquitted, including former President Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, leader of the Rally of Democratic Forces, and Ahmed Ould Daddah.

The trial fell short of international standards. Defence lawyers did not have access to their clients' files before trial and faced serious intimidation by the President of the court. The prosecution case was based mainly on statements obtained by torture, which were admitted as evidence by the court without any scrutiny of the torture allegations.

Torture and ill-treatment

Torture and ill-treatment continued to be widespread and systematic in police stations as well as during arrests. Detainees were reportedly tied in excruciating positions and subjected to the "jaguar" technique, which involves suspending the victim from a metal bar and beating the soles of the feet. Several detainees tried in Ouad Naga (see above) said they had been tortured, including by the "jaguar" technique.

• Mahfoudh Ould Hamed Ould Idoumou, who was arrested in May, was reportedly kept in handcuffs and leg irons for 25 days at a police training centre. Other detainees who were arrested between April and June were held naked and were beaten during interrogation.

Harsh prison conditions and health concerns

There were continuing concerns about the health of many prisoners. Some were reportedly denied access to appropriate medical attention and were held in harsh conditions, which reportedly contributed to their illnesses. The food was reportedly poor quality and did not meet the special needs of detainees.

• Saleh Ould Hannena and Abderhamane Ould Mini were detained in solitary confinement in cells without windows. They were handcuffed and held in leg irons for 24 hours a day for several days. Both were released under the September amnesty.

Recognition of human rights organizations

Several Mauritanian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including SOS Esclaves and the Mauritanian Human Rights Association, were officially recognized in June. Although recognized by international human rights bodies, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, these and several other NGOs had remained illegal for years under Mauritanian law and had operated with great difficulty.

Slavery

Although slavery was officially abolished in 1981, further evidence emerged about the persistence of this practice. Those denouncing slavery remained at risk of harassment.

• In March, Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi, a freelance journalist, was arrested after investigating a case of domestic slavery in Mederdra, south-west Mauritania. He was arrested with two other people, including the wife of an opposition senator, when he was transcribing the story of Jabhallah Mint Mohamed, who had recently fled an estate in Abokak, 20km from Mederdra, where she had been all her life. Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi was accused of harming national security and Mauritania's economic and diplomatic interests by publishing "false information". All three were released provisionally after a month.