The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) welcomes the release of blogger Mommeu Ould Bouzouma and urges the Mauritanian authorities to drop all charges against him.
Bouzouma, who is also the correspondent of the news website Alakhbar.info in the city of Zouerate, in the district of Tiris Zemmour, was released on May, 15, 2020, twelve days after his arrest for tweeting about the lockdown enforcement in the country.
He had tweeted that, the enforcement of COVID-19 lockdown in the city and its suburbs is erratic.
The blogger was interrogated by prosecutors after his arrest on May 3, 2020 before being transferred to the civil prison of Zouerate on May 5. He was accused of false publication on social media and inciting the public against the administration.
He was released after the governor of Tiris Zemmour, Isselmou Ould Sidi withdrew his complaint against him.
The MFWA believes that Bouzouma should not have been arrested in the first place for merely expressing his disapproval of the COVID-19 lockdown enforcement. We are urging the authorities to drop all charges against him and ensure that he is free from further harassment, intimidation and all forms of censorship.
