Mauritania sentences opposition lawmakers to four years over insulting president

Two opposition lawmakers in Mauritania were sentenced to four years in prison after a criminal court in Nouakchott convicted them for posts that insulted President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani and raised claims of racial bias, according to their lawyers, who spoke to The Associated Press. The verdict was delivered on Monday, the attorneys said, after the defendants were charged last month.

Lawyers for Marieme Cheikh Dieng and Ghamou Achour said the prosecution brought the case after the two opposition lawmakers posted messages on social media critical of the president. The lawyers said the charges included “attacking the symbols of the state” and “calling for gatherings with a view to undermine public security.”

In the messages at the center of the case, Dieng and Achour called for President Ghazouani’s removal, their attorneys said. They also accused what they described as the Arab-dominated justice system of treating Black citizens and descendants of slaves as second-class.

The attorneys — Mohamed Ould Ahmed Miske, Yaghoub Ould Sèïf and Moctar Ould Ely — confirmed the verdict to the Associated Press after it was handed down at the criminal court in Nouakchott. The government did not comment on the conviction, according to the report.

Mauritania has faced sustained criticism from rights groups for alleged human rights abuses and for the continued persistence of slavery, despite a ban adopted in 1981. The Associated Press reported that the country outlawed slavery in 1981, but that human rights groups say the practice continues; it cited a 2023 Global Slavery Index estimate of about 149,000 people in modern slavery in a nation of fewer than 5 million.

After the verdict, Biram Dah Abeid, leader of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement coalition, condemned what he called an unjust and politically motivated trial. He said at a news conference that he viewed the two lawmakers as “heroes” and “sincere fighters against injustice,” the Associated Press reported.

Dieng and Achour are associated with a coalition that is not a registered political party but is allied with the registered Sawab party, a relationship aimed at helping them secure election outcomes, according to the report.