Mauritania

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has condemned a 15 February 2006 attack on Khalil Ould Jdoud, editor-in-chief of the Arabic-language daily “Al Akhbar”, which began when a score of armed men sent by an ex-colonel-turned-businessman burst into the newspaper’s offices looking for him. Hours later, the journalist narrowly escaped after his car was deliberately rammed […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has welcomed the resumption of FM broadcasts by Radio France Internationale (RFI) in Nouakchott after a ban imposed in October 2000 was lifted. The authorities gave the go-ahead at the end of a visit to Nouakchott by RFI’s deputy director for international relations, Jean-Marc Belchi. Mauritania’s military leader, Col. Ely […]

(MFWA/IFEX) – Moulaye Najim, a journalist with “Points Chauds” newspaper, and Abdel Ould Sejad, his assistant, were jailed on October 19, 2005 for allegedly publishing pornographic pictures taken at Nouakchott Civilian Prison. Najim has since been released, but Sejad remains in jail. The State Prosecutor said the charge against Najim and Sejad is provided for […]

(RSF/IFEX) – During a 25 October 2005 meeting, Mauritania’s new military leader, Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, assured a Reporters Without Borders delegation that the new government will promote democratic press reforms during the current transition. He also said the French public radio station, Radio France Internationale (RFI), will soon be able to resume FM […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 2 September 2005 RSF statement: Twelve press freedom recommendations for month-old military junta A month after a junta calling itself the Military Council for Justice and Democracy seized power in Mauritania and promised to re-establish democracy, Reporters Without Borders has written to the head of the junta, Col. Ely […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Ebilmaali, editor-in-chief of the independent daily “Akhbar Nouakchott”, was freed on 21 May 2005 after being held for three days. Following his release, he told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the police wanted him to show them the hiding place of Jemil Ould Mansour, an Islamist opposition leader he had recently […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has urged the Mauritanian authorities to explain the arrests of journalists Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Ebilmaali and Mohamed Ould Abderrahmane in the course of anti-Islamist police raids. Ould Ebilmaali was detained on 19 May 2005, while Abderrahmane was detained on 25 April. “Arresting journalists is serious and requires the utmost transparency,” the organisation […]

(MFWA/IFEX) – On 13 April 2005, the Nouakchott Court of Appeal granted bail to freelance journalist Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudy and two women who were jailed in connection with an article he published concerning an alleged case of slavery. According to MFWA-Mauritania sources, the prisoners were only allowed to leave their cells on 14 April […]

(MFWA/IFEX) – Authorities at the Ministry of Interior, Post and Telecommunications seized and banned the distribution of the 6 April 2005 issue (No. 482) of the independent weekly “Le Calame”. No official explanation was given and no specific offence was cited. “Le Calame” management speculates that the ban may have been the result of an […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed indignation over the indictment and imprisonment of freelance journalist Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi. Mahmoudi was charged with “damaging the public image” of Mauritania after he interviewed a young woman identified by a local NGO as a runaway slave. “When a journalist seeks to obtain an individual’s story, he is committing […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has protested the 13 March 2005 arrest of freelance journalist Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi. Mahmoudi was investigating a case of domestic slavery in Mederdra, southwest Mauritania, when he was picked up by local police. “Mohamed Lemine Ould Mahmoudi was arrested simply for practicing his profession. He must be freed immediately,” said RSF. […]

(MFWA/IFEX) – On 13 June 2004, Aidahy Ould Saleck, a regional correspondent of the independent weekly “L’Eveil Hebdo”, was held for questioning by police in Nouadhibou, 400 km northwest of the capital, Nouakchott. Saleck was detained at the police station and interrogated for more than four hours. The editor-in-chief of “L’Eveil Hebdo”, Diop Moussa, told […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) alert: On 5 April 2004, State Prosecutor Mohamed Elghaith Ould Oumar took statements from Moussa Diop, editor-in-chief of “L’Eveil Hebdo”, Oumar El Moctar, managing editor of “l’Authentique”, Yedally Fall, managing editor of “Le Journal du Jeudi”, and Abdel Vettah, managing […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The following is a joint MISA-MFWA alert: The editors of four independent weekly newspapers, “L’Eveil Hebdo”, “L’Authentique”, “Le Journal” and “Al Moujtamaa”, have been sued for allegedly libelling Bodiel Ould Houmeid, a leading member of the ruling Socialist Democratic Republican Party (PRDS) and a close associate of President Maaouiya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya. According […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is worried that the French fortnightly “Afrique Education” may be the victim of indirect censorship in Mauritania, and has called on its Mauritanian distributor to explain the decision to stop distribution. In a 27 November 2003 letter, the distributor, Les Vents du Sud, told French publisher Messageries de la Presse Parisienne (NMPP) […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 31 October 2003 RSF open letter to presidential candidates in Mauritania: Dear candidates, As the 7 November presidential election approaches, the worldwide press freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders calls on you to formally declare your support for a range of measures to ensure greater press freedom, a topic that […]