April 27th was the anniversary of the “Burning of the Books.” This is the day that Biram Dah Abeid publicly burned several Malikite legal texts because they contain legal interpretations that uphold and elaborate on slavery.
IRA Mauritanie held a commemoration of this bold action on the part of Biram. The public book burning lead to the arrest of Biram and many other IRA members. There were calls for the execution of Biram because at first the book burning was viewed as apostasy. However, after some time for debate and reflection, the Mauritanians came to understand this book burning reached only Malikite jurisprudence, it in no way questioned the Koran or divine truth.
Although Biram was arrested and jailed for several months, the trial for apostasy was never completed. His release pending trial mutated into indefinite release.
Currently Biram is in jail for resisting public authority. He was sentenced on January 15, 2015 to two years in jail along with Brahim Bilal Ramadan and Djiby Sow. These men and many others were arrested on November 11, 2014 on the orders of the Wali of Rosso. The arrest order, coming from the Wali (or, Governor) of Rosso, was illegal. According to Mauritanian law, arrests must arise from the office of the Prosecutor. In this instance, the Governor not only ordered the arrest, he did not even inform the Procureur until the following morning.
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