Truth and justice for Abdoulaye Tambadou, who disappeared during Mauritania’s Passif humanitaire
Name(s):
Abdoulaye Tambadou
Status:
Summarily executed
Year of birth:
1950
Profession:
Lieutenant in the Mauritanian navy
Nationality:
Mauritanian
Date of arrest:
Abdoulaye Tambadou was a lieutenant in the Mauritanian navy during the Passif humanitaire. He was arrested at the Nouadhibou marine base on November 19, 1990. He was then taken to the Inal barracks where he was tortured. He was then summarily executed on December 6, 1990. His remains were never returned to his relatives and they were never officially informed of the circumstances of the death. They also do not know where he was buried. His family has continued to demand truth and justice ever since.
Abdoulaye Tambadou, then a lieutenant in the Mauritanian navy, was arrested at the Nouadhibou naval base on November 19, 1990.
Based on corroborating evidence, the same evening, he and other prisoners were transferred to the Inal garrison where he was subjected to acts of torture according to consistent testimonies. The chains restraining him would have pierced his outfit and attacked his flesh causing him intense pain.
On December 6, 1990, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, then Director of National Security, accompanied by another soldier, entered the cell where Abdoulaye Tambadou was detained. Given his deteriorating health, they agreed that he should be transferred to Zouérate or Nouakchott.
Guards helped him to leave his cell. He was due to be evacuated by plane. He was allegedly executed between Inal and the airfield. According to consistent testimonies, it was Captain Mohamed Ould Meguett, then head of signals services in the Mauritanian army, who shot him in the head at point blank range.
It was former detainees, like Lieutenant Mahamadou Sy, who were able to inform Abdoulaye Tambadou's relatives of his death. Abdoulaye Tambadou’s remains were never returned to his relatives and they were never officially informed of the circumstances of his death. They also do not know where Abdoulaye Tambadou was buried.
The disappearance of Abdoulaye Tambadou, followed by his summary execution, falls within the context of the “Passif humanitaire”. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, massive human rights violations against Afro-Mauritanian populations between 1986 and 1992.
In this context, the Inal base was notably the scene of serious violations as recounted by former detainee Mahamadou Sy in his work “L’enfer d’Inal”, which contains an entire chapter on the abuse suffered by Abdoulaye Tambadou.
His disappearance and summary execution illustrate the impunity from which the perpetrators of violations committed during the Humanitarian Passive still benefit today.
As a reminder, in 1993 the authorities promulgated Law No. 93-23 which grants amnesty to members of the security forces for all offenses that they may have committed in the exercise of their function between January 1, 1989 and April 18, 1992. The text specifies that “any complaint, any report and any investigation document relating to this period and concerning a person having benefited from this amnesty will be closed without further action”.
Failing to be able to lodge appeals at the domestic level, the victims and their beneficiaries had no other choice but to turn to international courts. In 2000, Mauritania was condemned by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) for its serious violations of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture. The victim's wife is part of a group of widows who filed this appeal before the ACHPR.
During the review of Mauritania in September 2023, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances expressed concern about “allegations received that persons suspected of being perpetrators of serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances during the period of humanitarian liability, would occupy public functions in the State party, which has the effect of maintaining a climate of impunity.”
Although Mohamed Ould Meguett was accused of being involved in the massacre of Afro-Mauritanian soldiers in the army between 1988 and 1991, as illustrated by the case of Abdoulaye Tambadou, he was appointed chief-of-staff of the Mauritanian army in 2020 and in 2023 he was elected president of the National Assembly.
Considering that the government is still obliged to take all appropriate measures for the search, location and release of missing persons and, in the event of death, for the location, respect and restitution of their remains, MENA Rights Group requested the intervention of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) on June 19, 2024 on behalf of Abdoulaye Tambadou’s relatives.
On June 10, 2025, the WGEID addressed a communication to the Government of Mauritania, urging the competent authorities to promptly undertake all necessary search efforts and carry out a proper investigation to clarify the fate of Abdoulaye Tambadou, establish his whereabouts, and ensure the full respect of his rights.
| Name(s): |
Abdoulaye Tambadou
|
| Status: |
Summarily executed
|
| Year of birth: |
1950
|
| Profession: |
Lieutenant in the Mauritanian navy
|
| Nationality: |
Mauritanian
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Abdoulaye Tambadou, then a lieutenant in the Mauritanian navy, was arrested at the Nouadhibou naval base on November 19, 1990.
Based on corroborating evidence, the same evening, he and other prisoners were transferred to the Inal garrison where he was subjected to acts of torture according to consistent testimonies. The chains restraining him would have pierced his outfit and attacked his flesh causing him intense pain.
On December 6, 1990, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, then Director of National Security, accompanied by another soldier, entered the cell where Abdoulaye Tambadou was detained. Given his deteriorating health, they agreed that he should be transferred to Zouérate or Nouakchott.
Guards helped him to leave his cell. He was due to be evacuated by plane. He was allegedly executed between Inal and the airfield. According to consistent testimonies, it was Captain Mohamed Ould Meguett, then head of signals services in the Mauritanian army, who shot him in the head at point blank range.
It was former detainees, like Lieutenant Mahamadou Sy, who were able to inform Abdoulaye Tambadou's relatives of his death. Abdoulaye Tambadou’s remains were never returned to his relatives and they were never officially informed of the circumstances of his death. They also do not know where Abdoulaye Tambadou was buried.
The disappearance of Abdoulaye Tambadou, followed by his summary execution, falls within the context of the “Passif humanitaire”. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, massive human rights violations against Afro-Mauritanian populations between 1986 and 1992.
In this context, the Inal base was notably the scene of serious violations as recounted by former detainee Mahamadou Sy in his work “L’enfer d’Inal”, which contains an entire chapter on the abuse suffered by Abdoulaye Tambadou.
His disappearance and summary execution illustrate the impunity from which the perpetrators of violations committed during the Humanitarian Passive still benefit today.
As a reminder, in 1993 the authorities promulgated Law No. 93-23 which grants amnesty to members of the security forces for all offenses that they may have committed in the exercise of their function between January 1, 1989 and April 18, 1992. The text specifies that “any complaint, any report and any investigation document relating to this period and concerning a person having benefited from this amnesty will be closed without further action”.
Failing to be able to lodge appeals at the domestic level, the victims and their beneficiaries had no other choice but to turn to international courts. In 2000, Mauritania was condemned by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) for its serious violations of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture. The victim's wife is part of a group of widows who filed this appeal before the ACHPR.
During the review of Mauritania in September 2023, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances expressed concern about “allegations received that persons suspected of being perpetrators of serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances during the period of humanitarian liability, would occupy public functions in the State party, which has the effect of maintaining a climate of impunity.”
Although Mohamed Ould Meguett was accused of being involved in the massacre of Afro-Mauritanian soldiers in the army between 1988 and 1991, as illustrated by the case of Abdoulaye Tambadou, he was appointed chief-of-staff of the Mauritanian army in 2020 and in 2023 he was elected president of the National Assembly.
Considering that the government is still obliged to take all appropriate measures for the search, location and release of missing persons and, in the event of death, for the location, respect and restitution of their remains, MENA Rights Group requested the intervention of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) on June 19, 2024 on behalf of Abdoulaye Tambadou’s relatives.
On June 10, 2025, the WGEID addressed a communication to the Government of Mauritania, urging the competent authorities to promptly undertake all necessary search efforts and carry out a proper investigation to clarify the fate of Abdoulaye Tambadou, establish his whereabouts, and ensure the full respect of his rights.
