BREAKING NEWS: Mauritanian journalist Mohamed Mahmoudi has been arrested along with two volunteer anti-slavery activists in Mauritania. His alleged crime: soliciting false testimony and colluding with Mauritania's external enemies. Mahmoudi is currently detained and will face interrogation by a judge tomorrow.
THE SCOOP: The north african nation of Mauritania is dominated by an Arab-Berber minority, who comprise less than 40% of the population and have enslaved many of the majority black African population for centuries. Any discussion of slavery is a threat to the regime of Colonel Taya (more on him here). For instance, the anti-slavery group SOS Slaves is banned by the government.
Mahmoudi, who is a supporter of SOS Slaves, learned about an escaped slave named Jabhallah and interviewed her. When Mauritanian security forces got wind of this taboo-shattering act, they swooped in and arrested him for soliciting false testimony - since (use Big Brother voice here) "slavery no longer exists in Mauritania."
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Mahmoudi's fate is largely in our hands. If the outside world stays silent, he faces a potentially long detention in one of Mauritania's jails. Outside pressure has repeatedly forced Mauritanian authorities to release arrested anti-slavery activists. So do your part: iAbolish.com has a new action campaign out today on Mahmoudi - go here to send a message to the Mauritanian Embassy in the US, the US Embassy in Mauritania, and congressional leaders who have been critical of Mauritania's human rights record.
The blogsphere has stood up for arrested bloggers in Bahrain. Let's do the same now for Mauritanian journalists who simply dare to expose slavery.
you are not cool
jokes
Posted by: | December 12, 2007 at 12:24 AM
I think that putting him into jail was not a good thing to do because he did nothing but his job. He found information and he reported to the nation that wants to know the entire slightest thing that is happening.
Posted by: Ahmed | December 05, 2008 at 05:21 AM