Hamady Lehbouss
Hamady Lehbouss Testimony
In Mauritania, religious obscurantism based on an incorrect and self-serving interpretation of Islam assists those who uphold slavery, and who hold in their hands all the mechanisms of the administration.
Our headquarter was closed without notice and without a process. The organisation's president Biram Dah Abeid was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison, in total indifference and silence of the national political class and despite the unanimous condemnation of the international community.
Hamady Lehbouss is the adviser of the president of IRA, a popular organisation in Mauritania which is not recognised by the government and that works on prisoners rights, land rights and anti-slavery issues. The activists of the organisation are spied on, followed and harassed by agents of the intelligence services. Often they are arrested at their home or in their neighborhood, and taken to police stations.
Mauritania has suffered two military coups in the last decade. In 2009, a year after the last coup, elections were held and the results maintained the leader of the military junta in power by a narrow majority in the polls. The 2006 Constitution, approved by referendum, reduced the presidential mandate to five years and imposed a two-term limit. It also protects the rights of freedom of expression, association and assembly as well as freedom of opinion and thought. Despite a solid constitutional framework and democratic elections, human rights defenders in the country are subject to acts of harassment and intimidation, in particular those working on anti-slavery issues.
