JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000549 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/25/2019 TAGS: PREL KDEM PHUM MR SUBJECT: JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT FOR "ACTS CONTRARY TO ISLAM AND DECENCY" REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 431 ¶B. NOUAKCHOTT 230 ¶C. NOUAKCHOTT 253 Classified By: Ambassador Mark M. Boulware for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Journalist and Taqadoumy Website Director Hanevy Ould Deha, detained on June 18 on charges of defamation against presidential candidate Ibrahima Moktar Sarr, was sentenced on August 19 to six months in prison, a 30,000 UM ($111 USD) fine and 230,000 UM ($851 USD) in legal fees for the unrelated count of "creating a space allowing individuals to make statements contrary to Islam and decency." The original defamation charges were dismissed because there are no laws in Mauritania regulating cyber-media. Mauritanian and international public opinion have been highly critical of Hanevy's arrest and condemnation, decrying it as a violation of freedom of the press and civil liberties. Hanevy's lawyer has also denounced the case as an example of arbitrary arrest and the political instrumentalization of the judicial system. End summary. ¶2. (C) Hanevy was arrested on June 18 after Sarr pressed charges for defamation following the publication of an article saying the presidential candidate had used campaign money provided by main contender Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to buy a house in an upscale Nouakchott residential district (Ref A). Hanevy, who resides in the United States, was in Mauritania on vacation when the arrest took place. Hanevy's lawyers denounced the arrest as arbitrary and highlighted irregularities such as denying Hanevy access to his lawyers and not allowing him to notify his family. Public opinion was also highly critical of Hanevy's arrest and many organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RWB), issued communiques condemning it. RWB stated Hanevy's arrest was "an abuse of judicial procedures aimed at silencing Taqadoumy" and supporters staged a protest in front of the United Nations building and launched a "Free Hanevy" campaign on the internet, which included a Facebook site and a petition signed by politicians and civil society. Comment: Taqadoumy, a popular anti-coup French-English-Arabic Website, had been particularly critical of junta leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and was viewed as the opposition website throughout the year of the coup. Access to the website was jammed on several occasions by the main internet service provider although internat-savvy readers were able to access it through overseas proxy sites. In March 2009, Taqadoumy journalist and editor-in-chief Abbas Ould Braham was arrested and a judge ordered Taqadoumy's blockage (Ref B). Public pressure obtained Abbas' release and contributed to lifting the ban on Taqadoumy. End comment. ¶3. (C) Hanevy was tried on two main charges: "acts contrary to decent behavior" and "defamation, invitation to rebellion, and invitation to commit crimes." He was convicted on the first charge and sentenced to six months in the Dar Naim prison, a 30,000 UM fine and 230,000 UM in legal fees. The judge, who accused Hanevy of contributing to the creation of a space allowing individuals to express anti-islamic and indecent views, based his decision on comments made by a female Taqadoumy user calling for increased sexual freedom in Mauritania. Hanevy was acquitted on the second set of charges because his lawyer successfully established there are no laws ruling cyber media in Mauritania. Local newspaper Le Calame described the judgment as "weird," "incoherent," and "totally hybrid" as Hanevy's sentence was based on Article 263 of the Penal Code regulating "acts contrary to decency on the press," an "extremely vague concept." "The story becomes a nightmare when one realizes that the infraction was perpetrated, not on the press, but on cyber press, which the judge agreed is unregulated," wrote Le Calame. RWB firmly condemned Hanevy's sentence and stated it was "disproportionate." They called on the court of appeals to invalidate the judgment. ¶4. (C) PolOff and PAO met on August 23 with Ministry of Communications and Relations with Parliament Secretary General Mohamed Lemine Ould Moulaye Zeine to inquire about the government's reaction to Hanevy's conviction. Zeine was accompanied by Director of Cooperation and External Relations Dicko Soudani. Zeine and Soudani attempted to deflect questions about Hanevy by expressing their satisfaction at the visit of US Embassy officials, stating their regrets at NOUAKCHOTT 00000549 002 OF 003 the departure of Peace Corps volunteers and stressing the Mauritanian government's commitment to fighting terrorism. As for Hanevy, they claimed that Mauritania was committed to freedom of the press and the development of a space and framework for the press, including cyber media laws. Zeine expressed Mauritania's interest in providing training and ethics classes for journalists and said they would welcome any assistance the Embassy could provide. Zeine closed the meeting by asking EmbOffs to go see the Ministry of Justice while Soudani stated that maybe President Aziz would pardon Hanevy during Ramadan. ¶5. (C) On August 23, EmbOffs also met with Hanevy's lawyer, Brahim Ould Ebetty, who stated Hanevy's case is first and foremost and arbitrary arrest one and highlighted the increase in arbitrary arrests in Mauritania following the August 6, 2008 coup d'etat. Ebetty cited recent arbitrary arrest and detention cases including former Prime Minister Waghef's and Doctor Ould Nagi's (Ref C). Both Waghef and Nagi were victims of irregularities in arrest and detention procedures, have close ties to the opposition and their cases were perceived as a political revenge. Note: Doctor Ould Nagi's father is FNDD leader Ahmedou Mohamed Ould Nagi. End note. Ebetty stressed that Hanevy's arrest warrant expired while he was in jail and was never renewed. According to Mauritanian law, nobody can be held in prison without a warrant. Ebetty asked the authorities to re-issue a warrant or release Hanevy but obtained no response. ¶6. (C) Hanevy's case has sparked controversy among Mauritania's lawmakers. National Bar Association President Ahmed Salem Ould Bouhoubeiny drafted a critical report on the state of the judicial system, in which he exposed widespread corruption, unexplained deaths in prisons, unjustified detentions and the general failure of institutions. Attorney General Seyid Ould Ghailani responded with a violent communique in which he stressed the independence of the judicial system and stated he would crush anybody who challenged that. ¶7. (C) On August 25, PolOff met with La Tribune Editor Mohamed Fall Ould Oumere, who did not show much sympathy for Hanevy, stating that Taqadoumy was sensationalistic and that its journalists made up stories and often failed to check facts. Nevertheless, he did agree that Hanevy's sentence was harsh and unfair. Oumere highlighted that Hanevy was tried under the Penal Code and not on the existing Law of the Press. He also stated that offenses are not crimes and therefore journalists should not be imprisoned but fined or sanctioned. ¶8. (C) Comment: Hanevy's ordeal raises concern about the politicization of the judicial system. In this case and others, we have noted prosecutions that clearly targeted political opponents of the then-regime (the most prominent case being the extended imprisonment of former Prime Minister Waghef). In this specific case, we suspect the original Taqadoumy charge against Sarr was correct -- since Aziz, at the time, needed to have someone run against him in the elections he tried to organize pre-Dakar. The second charge is, perhaps, more problematic. In a recent lunch the Ambassador hosted for cyber-media there was general agreement that the competition to post information before the competition does not allow for fact-checking. The cyber-media is also vulnerable, as in this case, to being held liable for on-line statements posted on their site without their editorial control. ¶9. (C) Comment continued: The Aziz government will have difficulty establishing its democratic credentials if a pattern of politically-motivated prosecutions persists. The Hanevy case already has the government on the wrong side of substantial international human rights organizations like RWB. Hanevy's case constitutes bad publicity for Aziz and his new government and casts a shadow on the new president's claims of governing in a fair and inclusive manner. Reaction to Hanevy's imprisonment through mobilization of social networking sites reveals the increased influence the cyber-media is playing in the socio-political sphere. Lack of agreement among journalists, some who side with Hanevy and other who criticize he and his website's unprofessional journalistic practices, demonstrates the increasing need for a professionalization of the industry. The cyber media is a "no man's land", unregulated by the law. Traditionally an NOUAKCHOTT 00000549 003 OF 003 uncensored sphere of relative freedom, the Hanevy case has shown the limits of what authorities will accept. End comment. BOULWARE