THREE WEST AFRICAN PROTESTANT PASTORS ARRESTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000621

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR EAID KPAO MR
SUBJECT: THREE WEST AFRICAN PROTESTANT PASTORS ARRESTED
(AND QUICKLY RELEASED)

Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

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(C) Key Points
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-- Three non-Mauritanian Protestant pastors were arrested on
May 18. Their churches' religious materials were seized, and
their church doors were padlocked.

-- The three, a Liberian, Nigerian, and Ghanaian, were
released later the same day. They were told that their
churches were illegal and would remain closed. They were
ordered to cease all future religious meetings.

-- This case comes only weeks after the detention and quick
release of a Christian Mauritanian employee of Doulos, an
international faith-based NGO. He and two other Christian
Mauritanians who attended the same church as the Doulos
employee were arrested for allegedly proselytizing
Mauritanians.

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(C) Comments
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-- Given the quick releases, we think the Mauritanian
authorities are simply signaling Christian groups here,
almost all of which are non-Mauritanian, to reduce their
visibility and to stop proselytizing , an illegal activity
here.

-- We suspect that complaints from Mauritanian citizens have
been driving the actions by the police, but we have been
unable to confirm that.

-- Even with the arrests, we doubt that Christian
proselytizing will stop. More arrests could occur. Neither
side, however, wants a highly public confrontation over
religious freedom in Mauritania, in our judgment.

End Key Points and Comments.

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WHAT WE KNOW
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1. (C) Three West African Protestant pastors were arrested in
Nouakchott on May 18. According to an American elder in the
local Protestant church who meets with the three regularly,
authorities arrested the men, searched and seized religious
materials from each of their churches, then padlocked the
doors.


2. (C) The three men were released later the same day, and
told that:

a) Their churches were illegal and would remain locked;

b) The government would not return seized religious materials;

c) The three pastors could no longer meet for religious
purposes, that meetings among members of their congregations
must be limited to no more than three; and

d) Church members may meet for social purposes only, and even
then only after receiving government clearance in advance.


3. (C) The American church elder who had recently spoken to
one of the three pastors arrested, Gueye Gaye, has also
confirmed with Mauritanian authorities the details reported
above.


4. (C) Each of the three pastors, a Liberian, Nigerian, and
Ghanaian, has a church in either the Cinquieme or Sixieme,
neighborhoods of Nouakchott in which many West Africans
reside. In fact, the three claimed to minister exclusively
to West Africans.


5. (C) The three pastors reportedly receive financial
assistance from large evangelical churches and ministries in

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the United States.

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WHAT WE'VE DONE
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6. (C) The Embassy has taken immediate, but low-key action,
as the Department (and others) requested. In a telephone
call on May 18, the day of the arrests, the DCM asked the
Secretary General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohamed

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Lemine Ould Moulaye Zeine, for any information Zeine might
have. It was the first Zeine had heard about the arrests --
no surprise there. Zeine said he would get back to us, if
and when he got any more information about the arrests. He
hasn't contacted us yet -- no surprise there, either. We can
expect the MFA to proceed very cautiously with this sensitive
issue of the Christian presence in Mauritania, a country
whose citizenry is virtually entirely Moslem.


7. (C) Also, ConOff attempted to contact the wife of one of
the three arrested through the email address we were given
for her. She has not responded to the email, although we are
confident she received it.

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WHAT WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN
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8. (C) This case comes only weeks after the detention of
three Christian Mauritanians, one of whom is an employee of
Doulos, a well known international faith-based NGO here. The
three were arrested allegedly for proselytizing, an illegal
activity in Mauritania. As in the most recent arrests, the
three Christian Mauritanians were quickly released.


9. (C) Given the quick releases, we think the Mauritanian
authorities are simply signaling Christian groups here,
almost all of which are non-Mauritanian, to reduce their
visibility and to stop proselytizing, an illegal activity
here. Complaints from Mauritanian citizens might well be
driving the actions by the police, but we have been unable to
confirm that.


10. (C) Even with the arrests, we doubt that the
proselytizing will stop. More arrests could occur.
LeBaron