Abdoulaye Bâ, head of the Anti-Trafficking Committee within the Initiative for the Abolitionist Resurgence (IRA) movement, was arrested on the night of April 26, 2025 and taken to an unknown destination, without his lawyer or family being informed.
On April 29, the public prosecutor in Nouakchott charged Bâ with “hate speech and cybercrime.” Bâ was subsequently transferred to Nouakchott Central Prison.
He is reportedly being accused of producing and sharing a video on social media in which he calls on the Minister of the Interior to end the arrests of irregular migrants, including Mauritanians, and their forced deportation from the country.
Mauritania is currently carrying out a deportation operation of illegal migrants to their countries of origin. However, this operation is said to be conducted under inhumane conditions, which have been denounced by civil society organizations and some media outlets.
According to a statement issued by the IRA movement on Facebook on April 30, 2025, Bâ’s remarks aimed to denounce the inhumane treatment of migrants.
In the same statement, the movement strongly condemned the arrest of its member, describing the arrest as an “acts of intimidation and harassment aimed at silencing the voices of those who fight for justice and equality in Mauritania.”
The MFWA condemns the arrest of activist Abdoulaye Bâ and calls on the authorities to release him unconditionally.
