On 28 February 2020, Mauritanian news agency C.R.I.DE.M reported that seven people had been charged with "
contempt of Islam" under Article 306 of the Mauritanian penal code. Under this article, those who have been found guilty of blasphemy are given three days to repent or will have to face the death penalty. It is believed that most of the accused belong to a secularist political movement but some of the original 12 detainees were accused of preaching Christianity and distributing Bibles. On 5 March 2020, International Christian Concern
confirmed that three Christians among those originally arrested had been released after intervention by human rights lawyers proved successful.
Michael Bosch, Persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Mauritania remains a very hostile place for Christians, especially for those who have converted from Islam to Christianity. However, all who advocate for more religious freedom or more freedom of expression risk arrest. The case of Mauritanian blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir is well-known: In 2014 he was accused of blasphemy after writing a Facebook post questioning Prophet Muhammed"s attitude towards slavery and pointing out that Mauritania"s modern-day upper-class had embraced that self-same attitude to legitimize the slavery of lower caste Mauritanians. The blogger was released in July 2019, but only after the government amended the criminal code making the death penalty mandatory for those convicted for using blasphemous speech (
BBC News, 30 July 2019)."
Michael Bosch continues: "Blasphemy charges in Mauritania take place against a backdrop of continuing slavery, rampant corruption, money laundering, weapon- and human trafficking and widespread radical Islamic influence. Internationally, there seems to be little interest in what is going on in the country which ranks 24th in Open Doors
World Watch List published in January 2020. That is a disappointment for the indigenous Christian community, since Mauritania remains one of the most difficult environments for converts from Islam to practice their new beliefs."
