A criminal court in Nouakchott has sentenced two female opposition lawmakers in Mauritania to four years in prison after they accused President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on social media of presiding over racial injustice in the West African country. The ruling, delivered late Monday, also ordered the removal of their online content, the confiscation of their phones and the closure of their digital accounts.
The two lawmakers, Marieme Cheikh Dieng and Ghamou Achour, are members of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), a prominent anti-slavery and rights group. Prosecutors charged them last month with attacking the symbols of the state and calling for gatherings aimed at undermining public security after they described Ghazouani as the mentor of “apartheid in Mauritania” and called for his removal. Their lawyers confirmed the verdict to the Associated Press.
The case has reignited scrutiny of Mauritania’s long-running human rights record, especially on race and slavery. Mauritania abolished slavery only in 1981, the last country in the world to do so, yet rights groups say the practice and its legacy remain deeply embedded. The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimated that about 149,000 people in the country of fewer than five million live in modern slavery. IRA leader Biram Dah Abeid denounced the trial as politically motivated and praised the two women as fighters against injustice. The lawmakers are affiliated with an IRA-linked coalition that works with the registered Sawab party to contest elections. The government has not publicly commented on the convictions.
