THREE WEST AFRICAN PROTESTANT PASTORS ARRESTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000621 SIPDIS SIPDIS 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) -------------- (C) Key Points -------------- -- 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. -------------- (C) Comments -------------- -- 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. -------------- WHAT WE KNOW -------------- ¶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 �0A;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 NOUAKCHOTT 00000621 002 OF 002 the United States. -------------- WHAT WE'VE DONE -------------- ¶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 SIPDIS 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. -------------- WHAT WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN -------------- ¶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