On April 26, 2025, activist Abdoulaye Bâ was arrested for a social media video he posted. In the video he called the Minister of the Interior to end arrests of irregular immigrants, Mauritanians, and their expulsion from the country.
Bâ is the head of the Immigration Section of the non-governmental organisation, Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (L’Initiative pour la Résurgence du Mouvement Abolitionniste).
On June 5, Bâ appeared before the investigating judge of the Nouakchott court. He was subsequently charged with incitement and spreading hatred.
On June 12, the Criminal Chamber of the Nouakchott West Court found him guilty of incitement to hatred and sentenced to one year in prison, six months of which are suspended. He was also fined 20,000 MRU (USD 500).
Bâ was prosecuted under the Law nº2021-021 on the Protection of National Symbols, a widely criticised piece of legislation often wielded by Mauritanian authorities to suppress dissenting voices.
The same law was used to arrest and detain students of the University of Nouakchott for criticising the Mauritanian President on social media over their exclusion from a presidential fast-breaking (iftar) banquet.
The law was also used to convict political activist Sidi Mohamed Ould Bedki for addressing a letter to the President of the Republic. The law was passed by Mauritania’s Parliament in 2021 despite a boycott from the opposition.
The MFWA denounces the conviction of Bâ and calls on Mauritanian authorities to respect the civil rights of its citizens.
