Imprisonment and Beatings of Anti-Slavery Activists in Mauritania

Oct. 16th 2018

IRA – USA stands in solidarity with Mauritanians beaten and imprisoned for their defense of human rights.

We support the renewed petition hosted by Freedom Now that calls for the release of Biram Dah Abeid from prison and for an end to the police harassment of human rights defenders.

 

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Letter from Prison

“Mauritanie : « Je paie au prix de ma liberté la lutte pacifique contre l’esclavage »

Le militant Moussa Biram écrit une lettre d’une prison du désert mauritanien où il est en détention depuis cinq cents jours avec Abdallahi Mattalah.

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Blasphemy Death Sentence Appealed

On November 8, 2017 Mohammed Ould Mkhaitir again appealed his death sentence. In January 2014 Mkhaitir was sentenced to death for blasphemy because he wrote a short blog protesting the use of religion as a rationale for racist caste-based discrimination.

Since then, imams have led huge street protests calling for Mkhaitir’s death.

Our campaign for […]

Campaign for Release from Prison: Moussa Bilal Biram and Abdellahi Matalla Saleck

A coalition of human rights organizations is pressuring the Mauritanian government to release human rights defenders held in prison.

For over a year, Mauritanian anti-slavery activists Moussa Bilal Biram and Abdellahi Matalla Saleck have been held in a Saharan desert prison in Bir Moghrein. The prison, more commonly used to house terrorists, is in an […]

Diop Speaks from Prison: Police Beat Many Of Us

Amadou Tidjane Diop spoke with IRA USA today from his prison cell in Dar Na-im prison, Nouakchott. Dar Na-im is the general prison for violent offenders. He reports that he was not beaten, but many among the IRA prisoners suffered immensely from repeated beatings by the police.

The IRA prisoners were brought to court in […]

Blasphemy, Apostasy, Hypocrisy: Ould Mkhaitir Case

Sentenced to death for a blog post, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir is in prison in Nouadhibou, Mauritania.

Read about Mkhaitir’s arrest and massive demonstrations against him because he published a blog post criticizing the caste system and discrimination against lower castes in Mauritania.

Read about the intimidation of Mkhaitir’s lawyers, and how several were […]

Law Threatens Mauritanian Anti-Slavery Activists

Maina Kiai urges Mauritania to change its current draft of the law to protect civil liberties and human rights in Mauritania. Source: UNOHCRH

Continuing its crackdown of civil rights and freedoms, the Mauritanian government has proposed a law to further restrict the Mauritanian human rights organizations. The proposed law will impose a stringent […]

Working to Advance Human Rights in Mauritania: IRA – USA

IRA – USA fights against slavery, racism, and gender oppression in Mauritania. The founding board members include Biram Dah Abeid (honorary president of IRA – USA), Bakary Tandia, Jerry Herman, Sykam Sy, and Alice Bullard.

We work directly and on a daily basis with Biram Dah Abeid’s organization, IRA – Mauritanie.

Our activities include:

freeing […]

Five Arrests; Tear Gas and Clubs used against Human Rights Defenders

We have received an urgent communication from Nouakchott.

Fighting and police repression have followed from an Imam’s angry sermon against IRA and Biram Dah Abeid. The Imam, Ahmedou Ould Lemrabott Ould Habibourahman, used his Friday October 24th sermon to severely criticize Biram and IRA, denouncing them as apostates, enemies of Islam and of Muslims, and […]

Cheikh Ould Vall, imprisoned without medical care

We have received several reports of Chekh Ould Vall’s dire medical condition. Hamady LEHBOUSS, the Conseiller du président de IRA-Mauritanie, wrote directly to IRA-USA with the report. According to Hamady as of August 15th 2014, “Cheikk Ould Vall, l’un des trois militants de IRA qui croupissent en prison à Nouakchott , est très malade..selon nos […]