13 members of Initiative pour la résurgence de la mouvement abolitionniste (IRA).
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2017-047-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2017
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 21.00789
Longitude: -10.940835
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Mauritania
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Dates of prior UN action
- 11 October 2016; 19 October 2016
- Type of record
- Named organization
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Type of rights defended
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
possible link with members having cooperated with the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights during his visit to the country
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Special Procedures: thematic
- Dates of engagement
- May 2016
- Type of attempted engagement
- Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- Between June and July 2016
- Reprisal information
Grave violations in Mauritania of the judicial process, including allegations of torture following the arrest, arbitrary detention and sentencing to prison of 13 members of Initiative pour la résurgence du mouvement abolitionniste.
The members of IRA were arrested between June and July 2016, and were accused of armed gathering, use of violence towards law enforcement agents, insurrection and membership in a non-recognized organization. Following trials, which violated fair trial and due process guarantees due to a number of irregularities, the activists were sentenced in August 2016 to imprisonment, ranging from three to fifteen years.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Conviction
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Trial
- Physical attack: Torture/Cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 19 October 2016
- Government response content
the Government responded by denying allegations of torture, and stating that the judicial process scrupulously respected international human rights standards. The Government’s reply did not address the allegations of reprisals.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 0