Attacks on the Press in 2000 - Mauritania
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 2001 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 2000 - Mauritania, February 2001, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c565f228.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The government continued to proscribe outspoken publications under Article 11 of the 1991 Press Ordinance, which gives authorities power to ban any newspaper deemed detrimental to Islam or state authority, threatening to public order, or defamatory to foreign heads of state.
During 2000, several independent newspapers were confiscated or suspended for long periods. Victims included the newspapers L'Eveil Hebdo, La Tribune, Le Carrefour, Inimich, El-Qods, and Al-Alam. Some papers, including La Tribune, were sanctioned more than once, for offences ranging from coverage of Islamist militants to criticism of the government and interviews with exiled opposition figures.
The shaky financials of most newspapers make them particularly vulnerable to arbitrary closures. Some newspapers have been put out of business due to repeated censorship. As a result, Mauritanian newspapers have shown increasing reluctance to cover politically sensitive issues.
