1 March 2010

Alert

Website editor freed under presidential pardon


Incident details

Release

Hanevy Ould Dehah, Editor

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(RSF/IFEX) - Hanevy Ould Dehah, the editor of the website Taqadoumy, was finally freed on 26 February 2010 along with around 100 ordinary offenders under a presidential pardon issued in honour of Mawlid (the Prophet Mohammed's birthday).

"We welcome Dehah's release after eight months of unjustified detention," Reporters Without Borders said. "The president seems to have heard the appeals from Mauritanian journalists and the international community. We thank them for interceding."

Dehah's lawyer, Brahim Ould Ebety, said his client had become an embarrassment for the government. He thanked all those who fought for Dehah's release and said without them his client would still be in prison.

The legal void in Mauritania regarding online journalists must be filled as a matter of urgency so that similar cases do not recur. On 29 December, Reporters Without Borders sent the government a series of recommendations aimed at improving respect for press freedom. One of the recommendations was an overhaul of Internet legislation.


Source:

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

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From other IFEX members

Editor released (WiPC)

More on this case

Court imposes new two-year sentence on website editor 5 February 2010 Still held illegally, website editor re-tried on same charge 4 February 2010 Journalist held past his release date, begins hunger strike in protest 6 January 2010 Website editor gets six months in prison for "offending public decency" 21 August 2009 Detained website editor faces up to five years in prison 2 July 2009 News website director arrested 24 June 2009

Mauritania

ANHRI condemns detention of activist 9 February 2012 Moroccan journalist expelled 27 December 2011 Senegalese TV crew arrested, equipment seized 22 August 2011 Police attack anti-slavery campaigners 9 August 2011 ANHRI condemns blocking of newspaper's website after UAE intervention 21 June 2011 See all alerts: Mauritania


 
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