[ad_1]
Copyright of the image
Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mohamed Mkhaitir
Mr. Khaitir claims that his posting on Facebook was misinterpreted and that he did not want to cause offense
A Mauritanian blogger jailed for more than five years after being found guilty of blasphemy against the Muslim prophet Muhammad was released.
Advocacy groups have waged a long campaign to secure the release of Mohamed Sheikh Ould Mohamed M & # 39; khaitir.
He was due to be released in 2017, but the government refused to claim that he could be lynched.
Conservative Muslims had called for his execution for a Facebook post about the Prophet Muhammad on Facebook.
In the post of 2014, Mr. Khairir had questioned the choices of the Prophet Muhammad during the 7th century holy wars.
He also criticized the ill-treatment of black Mauritanians who, according to Mr. Khairir, were discriminated against.
He was convicted of blasphemy the same year and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted to a two-year sentence following an appeal.
He should have been released in 2017 because he had already spent two years in prison, but a crowd of conservative Muslim protesters called for his execution, forcing the authorities to keep him in detention for "security reasons."
- Africa Live: more about it and others
- Profile of Mauritania
Mr. Khaitir made statements of repentance on Facebook and on television as a condition of his release after a meeting between human rights groups, religious leaders and outgoing president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, said the human rights group Reporters Without Borders.
"This blogger was the oldest citizen journalist in French-speaking Africa, and we thank all those who contributed to his release," said Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the group.
Mauritania has since amended its penal code and the death penalty is now mandatory for anyone found guilty of speech considered blasphemous.
Source link
