Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2017 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c934ba.html [accessed 5 June 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. |
Freelance | Imprisoned in Mauritania | January 02, 2014
| Job: | Internet Reporter |
| Medium: | Internet |
| Beats Covered: | Culture, Human Rights |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Local |
| Freelance: | Yes |
| Charge: | Ethnic or religious insult |
| Length of Sentence: | Death |
| Reported Health Problems: | No |
Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed, a blogger and freelance journalist, was sentenced to death on apostasy charges on December 24, 2014, according to news reports. He was arrested almost a year earlier, on January 2, 2014, at his home in the city of Nouadhibou in connection with an article he wrote that was published on the news website Aqlameon December 31, 2013.
The article for which he was arrested, called "Religion, religiosity and craftsmen," criticized Mauritania's caste system, an extremely delicate subject, and said that followers of Islam interpreted the religion according to circumstance, Reuters reported. Mohamed has frequently written articles for news websites that criticize Islamic religious beliefs and conservative practices in Mauritania.
The editor of Aqlame, Riad Ould Ahmed, took down the article from the website and issued a statement on January 4, 2014, saying it had been posted accidentally.
A few days after the death sentence was issued, Mauritania's ambassador to the United Nations said in reply to a statement by the International Humanist and Ethical Union that Mohamed had been imprisoned for his own safety in addition to violating the country's laws.
Groups of people had called for his death in public protests in Mauritania after his article's publication, according to news reports.
Local news reports said the trial was attended by several religious leaders who insisted on monitoring the proceedings to ensure Shariah law was carried out. When the defendant was brought to court, some in the crowd celebrated by cheering "Allahu Akbar," the reports said. After the 48-hour trial ended with the death sentence, crowds appeared on the streets to celebrate the verdict.
Mohamed's lawyers filed an appeal with the court in late 2014, saying he had repented within the time frame required to have sentence amended, according to news reports. The last time Mauritania applied the death penalty was in 1987, news reports said.
On April 21, 2016 an appeals court in Nouadhibou upheld the death sentence, according to news reports.
The appeals court referred the case to Mauritania's Supreme Court, which has the power to repeal the sentence, reports said. Under article 306 in the Mauritanian penal code, under which he was charged, if the Supreme Court rules that a defendant is repentant, it can reduce the sentence to up to two years in jail and up to 60,000 Mauritanian ouguiya (US$172.93.)
On March 24, 2017, the Supreme Court accepted Mohamed's appeal and ordered his retrial, his sister Ayecha told CPJ and local media reported. A Nouadhibou court of appeals on November 9, 2017 reduced the sentence against Mohamed to two years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of 60,000 Mauritanian ouguiya (US$172), according to news reports. Having served more than three years in prison, the blogger was scheduled to be released, but has remained in custody, according to his sister Ayecha Mint Cheikh and a press statement from the justice minister, Ibrahim Ould Daddah.
The blogger's family and lawyers have not been able to visit him or confirm his whereabouts since the court reduced his sentence, his sister told CPJ in late November, 2017.
