Front Line is seriously concerned following reports that human rights defender, Mr Boubacar Messaoud, was severely beaten by police officers during a demonstration on 2 April 2009 in Nouakchott. Boubacar Messaoud is the President of the Association SOS Esclaves (Slaves Association SOS) and a member of the Commission Nationale des Droits de l'Homme – CNDH (National Human Rights Commission).

On 2 April, Boubacar Messaoud was participating as an observer to the demonstration organised by the Coordination des Forces Démocratiques – CFD (Coordination of Democratic Forces) in the context of the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Niamey, Niger, at the end of March. It is reported that the riot police tried to disperse the demonstrators using excessive force, including tear gas, and clashes between protesters and the police ensued. Several protesters have been severely injured as a result. While far from the main cortege, on a side street, Boubacar Messaoud was reportedly singled out and targeted by police superintendent Ould Nejib, who alerted the three colleagues accompanying him. The group of four police officers, all attached to the Courthouse police station, had arrived to support the riot police. The four police officers reportedly knew well Boubacar Messaoud and had often met him in the Courthouse. They seemed to have specific orders to target Boubacar Messaoud, who did not attempt to flee when they attacked him, and did not defend himself. Boubacar Messaoud was hit in the back of the neck with a truncheon. He fainted and, according to reports from witnesses, the police officers continued to hit him dragging him along the ground. They allegedly tried to put him in the boot of an unmarked Mercedes.

Two women who were present at the scene and witnessed the events tried to draw attention of other passers-by and managed to stop the officers, resulting in Boubacar Messaoud being dropped to the ground. He regained consciousness in the back seat of a car driven by an unknown individual to whom the two women had asked help. He was left at his house. He woke up with bruises and pain on his right flank, left arm, on the back of his neck as well as his back. He went to hospital for a scan. According to his doctor, the blow hitting him at the bottom of the skull could have been fatal.

Front Line believes that Boubacar Messaoud was specifically targeted by the police during the protest because of his human rights work in Mauritania.