The President of the Mauritanian Journalists’ Union, Mohamed Salem Ould Dah, was able to visit colleagues Mahmoudi Ould Saibout and Babacar Ndiaye, detained at the judicial police following a complaint filed by Jamal, the President’s lawyer residing in Paris. He obtained permission from the Public Prosecutor in West Nouakchott, checked on the two colleagues’ health and called on the authorities to allow a similar visit to the third detained colleague, Dr Mohamed Ould Cheikh, held at the State Security Directorate. The Union President wrote on his page:
“After contacting the Public Prosecutor at the Western Court, we were able the day before yesterday to visit colleagues Boubacar Ndiaye and Mahmoudi Ould Saibout, learn about their detention conditions and spend some time with them. We asked for our colleagues’ wives, sisters and mothers to be allowed to visit, which indeed happened. Their conditions are normal, and their case concerns a complaint classified as libel and defamation. They will appear before the Public Prosecutor tomorrow, Monday. We made efforts with the complainant’s lawyer towards amicable solutions.
On this occasion, we renew our appeal to the security authorities holding our colleague Dr Mohamed Mohamed Ould Cheikh to allow us to visit him, examine his detention conditions and understand the reasons for his arrest.”