(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Interior Minister Dah Ould Abdel Jellil, RSF protested the seizure of the latest issue of the weekly “Nouakchott – Infos”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard urged the minister to use the power of his office “to see to it that Article 11 of the press law is repealed.” Three […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Interior Minister Dah Ould Abdel Jellil, RSF protested the seizure of the latest issue of the weekly “Nouakchott – Infos”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard urged the minister to use the power of his office “to see to it that Article 11 of the press law is repealed.” Three weeklies have been seized since 1 January 2000, in accordance with this text.
According to the information collected by RSF, on 17 May, Mauritanian authorities seized the latest issue of the weekly “Nouakchott – Infos”, in accordance with Article 11 of the press law. The seizure was allegedly prompted by the publication of an article titled “The Africa Development Bank (BAD) undermined by corruption”. In the article, the weekly criticised the Mauritanian government for supporting the BAD’s president, the Moroccan Omar Kabbaj, “for purely political reasons”.
Provisions in Article 11 allow “the ministry, by decree, [to] ban the circulation, distribution or sale of newspapers […] which undermine Islam or the credibility of the State, cause prejudice to the general interest or disturb order and public security […]”. In such instances, the Ministry of the Interior is under no obligation to justify his decision.
