Boubacar Ould Messaoud, Maitre Brahim Ould Ebetty and Prefesseur Cheikh Saad Bouh Kamara, prominent human rights defenders were arrested by security police at their homes on 17 January 1998 and held incommunicado for four days. They now face charge charges of creating an unauthorised association. Abdel Nasser Ould Ethmane, based in France was charged in absentia. These arrests appear to result from a television program on slavery, a sensitive political issue in Mauritania, featuring an interview with Boubacar Ould Messaoud. AI considers these men to be prisoners of conscience.
