Mauritania: Seven Christians charged for “insults to Islam”
Arrested in mid-February, seven Christians were sent to prison pending the scheduling of their trial for which no date has been set. The people in question had participated in Nouakchott in a meeting of an unauthorized association advocating for the re-founding of Mauritania. This association is suspected of promoting secularism in the country and some of its members are even accused of preaching Christianity.
In the same context, the Mauritanian justice system has issued arrest warrants against three people living abroad. Recently, audio recordings of conversations between some of the accused have spread widely on social media, causing deep outrage among the population. These recordings mock the precepts of Islam and contain insulting language about religion. The defendants are being prosecuted in accordance with the Mauritanian cyber crime law.
Conversions from Islam to Christianity are prohibited in Mauritania, as is the distribution of non-Islamic religious material. It is illegal to have Bibles in non-private homes. There are also no Christian organizations officially recognized and Christian radio programs are prohibited.
Source: christianophobie.fr
