Saturday 19^th July 2003

Urgent Appeal to the Belgian Government and to Human Rights Organizations

  The MHRW has learnt that a Mauritanian political opponent along with two journalists, all three wanted by the Mauritanian regime, have arrived to Brussels International Airport on Saturday 19^th July 2003 and have sought political asylum in the Kingdom of Belgium. 

 The three men are:

• Mr Jemil Ould Mansour, member of the permanent committee of the main Mauritanian political party Rassemblement des Forces Democratiques (RFD) and Head Councillor of Arafat district, the biggest of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott.  Mr Mansour was arrested on May the 4^th by the Mauritanian regime that subsequently suspended his duty as a mayor.  During the attempted coup of 8^th and 9^th June, Mauritania experienced a disorder that allowed Mr Mansour to escape the prison.

• Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed (Ould Seyyidi), Head of the Administration Board of the independent weekly paper Rayah, banned by the regime on June the 1^st.  An Arrest order was then issued against Mohamed Mahmoud, which forced him to hide away before he sought refuge in Senegal.

• Ahmedou Ould Mohamedou, Chief editor of the banned weekly Rayah.  Ahmedou has been persecuted before being wanted and actively searched for by the regime, during a whole month after the ban of his paper.  He managed to reach Senegal after several weeks of hiding.  The Mauritania regime is particularly angry with Ahmedou because of his call to Aljazeera satellite TV during the attempted coup, in which Ahmedou stated that rebels controlled most vital public services in the capital.

Several international and regional Human Rights organizations have issued statements explaining the danger and life-threatening conditions faced by the Mauritanian opponents.  An example, among the latest, is the Amnesty International’s call upon the Senegalese President, Mr Abdoulaye Wade, not to hand over these opponents to the Mauritanian regime.

Extradition would mean death or torture sentence in a country where the authorities do not respect international conventions on Human Rights and the judicial system has no independence whatsoever. 

At the MHRW, we call upon the Belgian government to assume its moral and humanitarian responsibilities with regard to these political opponents; to provide them with legal protection as per the Geneva conventions and the European Human Rights Act.  We equally call upon the Belgian, European and International organizations defending Human Rights and freedom of speech, to support these opponents in their procedure to secure a safe place where they can live with dignity and freedom and can continue their battle for justice and democracy.

Mauritanian Human Rights Watch (MHRW)

Saturday 19^th July 2003

www.almarsad.org

For more information, contact:

President of the MHRW: Mohamed Ould ElMoctar Shinqiti on 00 1 806 7863419

General Secretary: Dr. Mohamed Aly Ould Louly on 00 33 660380721