UPDATE - On July 29, 2019, blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed Mkhaitir was released from prison.
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Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Ministère du Secrétariat Général à la
Présidence
Nouakchott, Mauritania
Your Excellency,
We, the
undersigned nongovernmental organizations, urge you to ensure the immediate
release of Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir, who is still in detention more than
one and-a-half years since an appeals court ordered his release. His family and
lawyers say his health has suffered gravely during his incarceration and continues
to deteriorate.
In January 2014,
authorities arrested Mkhaitir days after he published an article online
denouncing what he considered the misuse of religion to justify discrimination
among castes in Mauritania.
In December
2014, after a year of pretrial detention, a first instance court in Nouadhibou
sentenced him to death for apostasy and insulting the Prophet Muhammad. However,
in 2016, the Court of Appeal in Nouadhibou requalified his offense as
“non-belief.” In November 2017, while Mkhaitir remained in detention, the court
reduced his sentence to a fine and two years’ imprisonment, which he had by
then served.
Instead of releasing
him, authorities transferred Mkhaitir to solitary confinement in an undisclosed
location. His lawyers have been denied permission to visit him. According to
his family, he suffers from physical pain, psychological trauma, and glaucoma
that could leave him blind if authorities continue to prevent his access to
appropriate medical care.
Mkhaitir has
been able to receive very occasional visits. According to the latest
information at our disposal, he has no interaction with other people except his
guards and occasional visitors.
This month,
Mauritanians will elect a new president. The prosecution of Mkhaitir for
exercising his freedom of speech and his continued illegal detention weighs on
your legacy. For now, it remains within your power to secure Mkhaitir’s
release, thereby sending a message of support for human rights and the rule of
law.
We respectfully
call on you to take immediate steps to ensure that Mkhaitir is set free and to
ensure his safety and well-being upon release.
We would
welcome your comments on this letter and on any other matter pertaining to
human rights and rule of law issues in Mauritania.
Sincerely,
Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la
Torture (ACAT) - France
Amnesty International
Anti-Slavery International
Committee to Protect Journalists
Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort
FIDH within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Freedom Now
Human Rights Watch
Minority Rights Group
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
PEN America
Reporters Sans Frontières
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