Amid chants of "Allahu akbar", huge and angry crowds gathered outside the Supreme Court in Mauritania on Tuesday demanding the execution of a man who complained about religion being used to justify social discrimination.
In December 2013 engineer Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir wrote an article… Read more
Archive: mauritania
30th December 2014
The strange thing about laws against apostasy and blasphemy is that most of the people who fall foul of them are neither apostates nor intentional blasphemers. In practice these laws have very little to do with theology and are mostly used as a pretext for settling political scores or pursuing… Read more
5th April 2012
The unrest in Mauritania continues to get scant attention from the English-language media, so here are some more details, pieced together from other sources.
The video above is a report from al-Jazeera about the mass protest on Tuesday when opposition groups organised nine separate but coordinated… Read more
4th April 2012
Photo posted by Ahmed Ennahoui
Has the Arab Spring reached Mauritania? Popular unrest is clearly growing and yesterday tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital, Nouakchott, calling on the president to step down.
Up to now, this has largely gone unnoticed by the rest of the world,… Read more
8th February 2010
An interesting sidelight on the "trial" last week of Mauritanian journalist Hanefi Ould Dehah (or Dahah). The Moor Next Door blogreports that an Arabic translation of a Wall Street Journal articlecalling for his release was circulated in the courtroom and in the streets outside. But it wasn't… Read more
6th February 2010
A brief update on Hanefi Ould Dehah, the Mauritanian journalist whose case I reported last December. After completing a six-month sentence for "indecency", Ould Dedah – editor of theTaqadoumy news website – was not released but continued to be held in jail illegally.
At a new trial on Thursday, he… Read more
16th January 2010
A group of religious leaders and other prominent figures in Mauritania have issued a fatwa against female genital mutilation (FGM).
The fatwa says FGM "has been proven by experts to be detrimental, immediately or subsequently. Hence, such a practice, as is performed domestically, is hereby… Read more
9th January 2010
The government of ex-general Ould Abdel Aziz, who seized power in Mauritania in 2008 and then won a questionable election last July, has come up with a new law against terrorism.
Ould Abdel Aziz is generally given an easy ride internationally – easier than he deserves – because, as the Associated… Read more
29th December 2009
Mauritanian journalist Hanefi Ould Dehah has reportedly begun a hunger strike in protest at his continued detention after completing a jail sentence.
Ould Dehah, editor of the Taqadoumy news website, was serving six months for "indecency" but since his sentence expired on 24 December the… Read more
5th November 2009
Mauritania's law against slavery is not being properly enforced and victims are not encouraged to come forward, according to a UN expert who has just completed a fact-finding mission to the country.
Although "significant steps" have been taken, "a comprehensive and holistic national strategy" is… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
