Biram Dah Abeid In Court On Unknown Charges
The President of the IRA, Biram Dah Abeid and his nine fellow prisoners were presented before the judge of Nouakchott on 29 May at midnight, still being denied any access to legal support. Biram Dah Abeid and seven of the activists were sent to prison, while three of them were released.
Please find below the unofficial translation of IRA´s Press Release:
After the pretrial detention period had largely lapsed, on the night from Tuesday [28] to Wednesday 29 May 2012, at around midnight, the IRA-Mauritania president and his 9 fellow prisoners were brought before a judge of Nouakchott. After several hours’ appearance before the court, in the absence of a defense team for the prisoners, seven of the abolitionist activists including Biram Dah Abeid were sent to the civilian prison of Nouakchott and three were released.
The lawyers who form the defense team and who were denied contact with their clients, have been so far facing a complete silence on part of the Public Prosecutor who refuses to communicate any kind of information on the case and, even the charges that the activists had to answer remain unknown.
On the basis of the above, IRA-Mauritania:
- Denounces the carrying out of this procedure in blatant breach of the Penal Code in force in Mauritania;
- Demands for the immediate release, without any restriction, of the activists’ arbitrarily detained;
- Call its activists and all the nation forces to mobilize and to stand up against the domestication of the Justice by the Executive.
- Finally, reiterates its strong commitment to step up the fight against slavery and racism in Mauritania.
For a pdf version of the unofficial English press release, click here.
For a pdf version of the official press release in French, click here.
