Mauritania anti-slavery activists ‘tortured in custody’
August 16, 2016
Thirteen anti-slavery activists in Mauritania on trial for “rebellion and use of violence” told a court on Monday that they had been tortured during their detention, their lawyer said.
They were arrested last month after a protest in a Nouakchott slum community that was being forcibly relocated as the West African country prepared for an Arab League summit.
“One by one, the 13 spoke out against the forms of torture they had been subjected to in custody”, according to lawyer Brahim Ould Ebetty, representing the members of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement.
He added that the campaigners demanded that “proceedings be brought against the torturers they have mentioned by name”.
READ MORE: Mauritania jails anti-slavery activists
The 13 are accused of rebellion, use of violence, attack against public authority, armed assembly and membership of an unrecognised organisation, which carries a potential fine and a jail term of up to two years.
The Nouakchott slum was home to many so-called Haratin – a “slave caste” under a hereditary system of servitude whose members are forced to work without pay as cattle herders and domestic servants.
About 10 police officers were injured during the protest, according to local officials.
Hereditary systems of slavery still exist in Mauritania despite an official ban, where those belonging to “slave castes” are forced to work as cattle herders and domestic servants without pay.
The post Mauritania anti-slavery activists ‘tortured in custody’ appeared first on African Media Agency.
Source:: http://amediaagency.com/mauritania-anti-slavery-activists-tortured-in-custody/
Nkemnji Global Tech
Featured
Terrorists in Mozambique are recruiting child soldiers and trafficking women, says OMR
Pan African Visions | April 14, 2021 1:52 am
Zimbabwe’s revenue authority to procure US$2m drones to monitor smuggling at ports of entry
Pan African Visions | April 14, 2021 1:38 am
French oil company, Total, defends the indefensible as investment decision is signed for a massive climate-destroying crude oil pipeline in East Africa
Pan African Visions | April 13, 2021 3:00 pm
The JUA Fund: An African Initiative with a Pan African Focus
Pan African Visions | April 13, 2021 6:07 am
Recent News
-
Terrorists in Mozambique are recruiting child soldiers and trafficking women, says OMR
April 14, 2021 1:52 am
-
Zimbabwe’s revenue authority to procure US$2m drones to monitor smuggling at ports of entry
April 14, 2021 1:38 am
-
New report highlights drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in Africa
April 13, 2021 10:07 pm
-
African Energy Developments Demand Sustained Investment with new projects in Mozambique, Uganda, and Senegal
April 13, 2021 4:17 pm
-
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) circular on the trading of foreign securities by investment platforms in Nigeria
April 13, 2021 3:59 pm
Leave a Reply