Human rights activists sentenced to prison for protesting against slavery

In Mauritania, five human rights activists were sentenced to prison for six to twelve months because they had protested against slavery, which is still practiced in the country. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) in Göttingen only found out today that the judgement was declared in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott on Monday already. The sentences were partly suspended on probation. "The verdicts are scandalous, because the human rights activists only demanded that existing laws should be implemented by setting slaves free and punishing the slaveholders," criticized the STP's expert on questions regarding Africa, Ulrich Delius. He also accused Mauritania of systematically criminalizing human rights activists.

All convicts belong to the human rights group IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement) that is trying to bring and end to slavery in the north-west African country. Mr. Bilkheir Cheikh Dieng was sentenced to one year in prison. Nine months of the penalty were suspended. Messrs Moulaye Abdel Kerim, Mokhtar Ould Mohamed Mahmoud, Cheikh Ould Ceyakh and Tourad Ould Zeid were each sentenced to six months imprisonment on probation. Another four people were acquitted. The prosecutor had demanded three years in prison without parole for all defendants.

The nine human rights activists were arrested on 4th of August 2011, after they had participated in a sit-in at a police office that deals with youth crimes?" demanding investigations against an alleged slaveholder. The woman was suspected to keep a nine-year-old-girl as a slave. Finally, due to public protests, the woman was taken into custody for a few days ?" but was released shortly after because of massive interventions by her family, who even sent a gang of thugs against the demonstrators.

"The situation is absurd," said Delius. "While the alleged slaveholder lives in freedom, human rights activists are treated as criminals." In Mauritania, about 500.000 people are still held as slaves despite official bans.