Human rights defender Mr Biram Dah Ould Abeid was assaulted and arrested on 13 December 2010 in Arafat following his intervention in an alleged slavery case. Biram Dah Ould Abeid is the President of Initiative de résurgence du mouvement abolitionniste en Mauritanie (Initiative for the resurgence of the abolitionist movement in Mauritania, IRA).
On 13 December 2010, Biram Dah Ould Abeid travelled to the department of Arafat to inform the local authorities of an alleged case of slavery. According to the information received, the local authorities ordered to the police to go to the place where the two young girls were allegedly kept in slavery.
Two police officers and an inspector arrived on the spot with Biram Dah Ould Abeid and other activists from the Front de lutte contre l'esclavage, le racisme et l'exclusion en Mauritanie (Movement against slavery, racism and exclusion in Mauritania, FLERE).