05/18/2016
Mauritania: Abolitionists are free!
The peaceful struggle against slavery in Mauritania continues (Press Release)
Biram Dah Abeid, President of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) was honored with the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 2013. Photo: UN Photo/ Paulo Filgueiras
On Wednesday, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) received good news: After spending 18 months in prison, the Mauritanian human rights activists Biram Dah Abeid and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane were released by order of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. “It was a great injustice that the abolitionists were kept in prison for so long. Now, the peaceful struggle against slavery in their country will continue – and we will support them,” said the STP’s Africa-expert, Hanno Schedler. “The next aim is to ensure that the Mauritanian authorities will finally recognize their organization, the IRA-Mauritania, as a non-governmental organization.”
Biram Dah Abeid is President of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA). Brahim Bilal Ramdhane is his deputy. The two of them were arrested on November 11, 2014, and sentenced to two years imprisonment on January 15, 2015, based on charges of participating in an unauthorized demonstration against slavery, for having founded a non-registered organization, and for resistance to state violence. Ever since, numerous non-governmental organizations, representatives of foreign governments and the United Nations had advocated for their release. “Finally, Mauritania has given in to international pressure,” said Schedler.
“Throughout their detention, the two abolitionists remained steadfast and could not be tempted to cooperate with the authorities. The price would have been far too high,” Schedler said. The Mauritanian government had repeatedly tried to intimidate the detainees in order to obstruct their political work against slavery and to make them cooperate with the authorities – but they had always refused. Their human rights organization has already helped thousands of slaves to regain their freedom.
Biram Dah Abeid has received several international awards: In 2011, he was honored with the Weimar Human Rights Award (following a proposal by the STP). Biram was also honored with the Irish Frontline Defenders Award (2013) and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights (2013). Recently, in December 2015, the IRA-Mauritanie was presented with the human rights prize of the Dutch government.
Header Photo: UN Photo/ Paulo Filgueiras
