Mauritania frees lawmakers convicted over discrimination claims

Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has pardoned two opposition lawmakers who were sentenced to four years in prison after accusing him of racial discrimination against Black Mauritanians and the descendants of enslaved people.

The two MPs, Mariem Cheikh and Ghamou Achour, were convicted over social media posts alleging the president was promoting what they described as “apartheid” in Mauritania.

Alongside the prison terms, the court ordered the removal of the posts, confiscated the women’s mobile phones and shut down their online accounts.

Both lawmakers are members of the anti-slavery movement known as the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement.

The case has renewed attention on the legacy of slavery in Mauritania, where the practice was officially abolished in 1981 but rights groups say it continues to persist despite tougher laws introduced in 2015.

The presidential pardon ends the prison sentences, but the case has reignited debate over race, freedom of expression and the treatment of anti-slavery activists in the West African nation.