Arrest of Mauritanian abolitionist MP Mariem Dieng and her infant child
Name(s):
Mariem Cheikh Samba Dieng
Status:
Detained
Year of birth:
1983
Profession:
MP at the Mauritanian National Assembly
Nationality:
Mauritanian
Date of arrest:
Mariem Dieng is a Mauritanian member of parliament who has long been committed to the abolition of slavery and the defence of human rights. On April 9, 2026, she hosted a live stream on Facebook during which she denounced the discrimination and human rights violations suffered by abolitionist activists from the Haratine community. A few hours after this broadcast, she was violently arrested in the presence of her three-month-old baby. Her family went several days without hearing from her or her child, despite repeated efforts to locate their place of detention. On April 20, 2026, she was placed in pretrial detention along with her infant. On May 4, 2026, she was sentenced to four years in prison, a sentenced reduced on appeal on July 8, 2026, to two years’ imprisonment.
Mariem Cheikh Samba Dieng is a Mauritanian member of parliament who has been actively involved with the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) for many years. She is a leading advocate for the human rights and dignity of indigenous peoples of African descent.
On the evening of April 9, 2026, Mariem Dieng hosted a live stream on Facebook during which she denounced the discrimination and human rights violations suffered by abolitionist activists from the Haratine community, who has historically been subject to slavery and marginalisation. She also denounced the degrading treatment and deplorable detention conditions faced by women in this community. In particular, she highlighted the case of abolitionist journalist Warda Ahmed Souleymane, who is incarcerated despite being pregnant and ill, as well as those of the two whistleblowers Lalla Vatma and Rachida Saleck, both of whom are being held in worrying conditions for having exposed the plight of an 11-year-old Haratine girl, detained and subjected to slavery by an Arab family.
Following the live stream, later that same day, around 10:35 p.m., armed and hooded men in civilian clothes arrived at the MP’s home in two unregistered vehicles. In the presence of her husband and their children, they ordered her to follow them and get into one of the vehicles, which she refused, stating that she had to care for her three-month-old infant. The men eventually forced her into the vehicle, compelling her to take her child with her. The agents refused to tell Mariem Dieng’s husband where they were taking her and their son.
On April 10, 2026, around 2:00 p.m., abolitionist MP Ghame Salem hosted a live stream on Facebook in which she denounced the arrest and disappearance of Mariem Dieng. She also challenged the legality of the arrest, which took place despite Dieng’s parliamentary immunity. Around 4 p.m., Ghame Salem was arrested as well.
On April 10, 2026, the Ministry of Justice issued a statement regarding the arrest of MPs Dieng and Salem. According to the statement, the two elected officials allegedly committed acts during their live broadcasts on social media that could constitute criminal offences. The Ministry considered that the live broadcast of the events constituted a case of flagrante delicto, thereby precluding the application of parliamentary immunity. The statement did not mention the abduction of Mariem Dieng’s baby and did not specify the location where the two members of parliament and the child were being held.
The families and lawyers of Dieng and Salem have repeatedly approached police stations and prosecutors’ offices in Nouakchott to find out where they are being held, to no avail.
On April 16, 2026, MENA Rights Group submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) on behalf of the two women and Mariem Dieng’s son.
On April 20, 2026, the CED sent a communication to the Mauritanian authorities, calling on them to clarify without delay the places of detention of Ghame Salem, Mariam Dieng and her infant. On the same day, Dieng and Salem were brought before the public prosecutor at the Nouakchott West Court. Their lawyers were informed and were able to attend the hearing to represent them. Access to the court was, however, restricted to all other persons, notably the families of the two MPs, who have been unable to visit them since their arrest.
The public prosecutor’s office charged Dieng and Salem with “deliberate contempt of national symbols via digital media, and the dissemination of racist remarks intended to undermine civil peace and social cohesion via social media” and “threats and defamation, incitement to gatherings with a view to disrupting public order, slander and defamation, and incitement to violence.”At the end of the hearing, the prosecutor ordered their remand in custody pending trial.
On the same day, Mariem Dieng was transferred to the Police Academy prison, a facility where visiting conditions are stricter than in ordinary prisons. This centre, established under the presidency of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, was intended for the detention of political opponents, as was the case with former President Mohamed Abdel Aziz. The detention conditions at this facility are considered particularly worrying, as the facility is designed to impose an oppressive prison system. It appears that Mariem Dieng and her infant are currently the only detainees at this centre.
On April 29, 2026, MENA Rights Group submitted a complaint to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Committee on the human rights of parliamentarians, requesting that it intervene with the Mauritanian authorities on behalf of Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem.
On May 4, 2026, the Criminal Court of Nouakchott West issued its first-instance ruling in the case of Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem. The two MPs were sentenced to four years in prison, along with the closure of their social media accounts and pages and the imposition of a fine. Mariem Dieng was returned to the Police Academy prison, once again with her baby.
The lawyers were only summoned to the trial the day before. After challenging the court’s jurisdiction without being heard, the defence team chose to withdraw from the proceedings, considering that their presence would merely lend an appearance of fairness to a process that failed to uphold the principles of a fair trial. Outside the courtroom, police violently dispersed demonstrators who had gathered in support of the two MPs, leaving several people injured.
On July 1st, 2026, the appeal trial of Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem began at the Nouakchott West Court. The MPs’ lawyers were the only ones permitted to attend the hearing. Everyone else, including their relatives, was denied access to the courtroom.
Outside the court, numerous activists had gathered to show their support for the two MPs and to denounce a trial they demmed an attack on civil liberties. The demonstration was violently repressed by the authorities and a large number of people had to be taken to the hospital due to the injuries they sustained.
On July 8, 2026, the court handed down its verdict and sentenced Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem to two years’ imprisonment on appeal, accompanied by a five-year deprivation of their civil and political rights. This decision results in the loss of their status as MPs and prevents them from standing for election during this period.
| Name(s): |
Mariem Cheikh Samba Dieng
|
| Status: |
Detained
|
| Year of birth: |
1983
|
| Profession: |
MP at the Mauritanian National Assembly
|
| Nationality: |
Mauritanian
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Mariem Cheikh Samba Dieng is a Mauritanian member of parliament who has been actively involved with the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) for many years. She is a leading advocate for the human rights and dignity of indigenous peoples of African descent.
On the evening of April 9, 2026, Mariem Dieng hosted a live stream on Facebook during which she denounced the discrimination and human rights violations suffered by abolitionist activists from the Haratine community, who has historically been subject to slavery and marginalisation. She also denounced the degrading treatment and deplorable detention conditions faced by women in this community. In particular, she highlighted the case of abolitionist journalist Warda Ahmed Souleymane, who is incarcerated despite being pregnant and ill, as well as those of the two whistleblowers Lalla Vatma and Rachida Saleck, both of whom are being held in worrying conditions for having exposed the plight of an 11-year-old Haratine girl, detained and subjected to slavery by an Arab family.
Following the live stream, later that same day, around 10:35 p.m., armed and hooded men in civilian clothes arrived at the MP’s home in two unregistered vehicles. In the presence of her husband and their children, they ordered her to follow them and get into one of the vehicles, which she refused, stating that she had to care for her three-month-old infant. The men eventually forced her into the vehicle, compelling her to take her child with her. The agents refused to tell Mariem Dieng’s husband where they were taking her and their son.
On April 10, 2026, around 2:00 p.m., abolitionist MP Ghame Salem hosted a live stream on Facebook in which she denounced the arrest and disappearance of Mariem Dieng. She also challenged the legality of the arrest, which took place despite Dieng’s parliamentary immunity. Around 4 p.m., Ghame Salem was arrested as well.
On April 10, 2026, the Ministry of Justice issued a statement regarding the arrest of MPs Dieng and Salem. According to the statement, the two elected officials allegedly committed acts during their live broadcasts on social media that could constitute criminal offences. The Ministry considered that the live broadcast of the events constituted a case of flagrante delicto, thereby precluding the application of parliamentary immunity. The statement did not mention the abduction of Mariem Dieng’s baby and did not specify the location where the two members of parliament and the child were being held.
The families and lawyers of Dieng and Salem have repeatedly approached police stations and prosecutors’ offices in Nouakchott to find out where they are being held, to no avail.
On April 16, 2026, MENA Rights Group submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) on behalf of the two women and Mariem Dieng’s son.
On April 20, 2026, the CED sent a communication to the Mauritanian authorities, calling on them to clarify without delay the places of detention of Ghame Salem, Mariam Dieng and her infant. On the same day, Dieng and Salem were brought before the public prosecutor at the Nouakchott West Court. Their lawyers were informed and were able to attend the hearing to represent them. Access to the court was, however, restricted to all other persons, notably the families of the two MPs, who have been unable to visit them since their arrest.
The public prosecutor’s office charged Dieng and Salem with “deliberate contempt of national symbols via digital media, and the dissemination of racist remarks intended to undermine civil peace and social cohesion via social media” and “threats and defamation, incitement to gatherings with a view to disrupting public order, slander and defamation, and incitement to violence.”At the end of the hearing, the prosecutor ordered their remand in custody pending trial.
On the same day, Mariem Dieng was transferred to the Police Academy prison, a facility where visiting conditions are stricter than in ordinary prisons. This centre, established under the presidency of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, was intended for the detention of political opponents, as was the case with former President Mohamed Abdel Aziz. The detention conditions at this facility are considered particularly worrying, as the facility is designed to impose an oppressive prison system. It appears that Mariem Dieng and her infant are currently the only detainees at this centre.
On April 29, 2026, MENA Rights Group submitted a complaint to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Committee on the human rights of parliamentarians, requesting that it intervene with the Mauritanian authorities on behalf of Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem.
On May 4, 2026, the Criminal Court of Nouakchott West issued its first-instance ruling in the case of Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem. The two MPs were sentenced to four years in prison, along with the closure of their social media accounts and pages and the imposition of a fine. Mariem Dieng was returned to the Police Academy prison, once again with her baby.
The lawyers were only summoned to the trial the day before. After challenging the court’s jurisdiction without being heard, the defence team chose to withdraw from the proceedings, considering that their presence would merely lend an appearance of fairness to a process that failed to uphold the principles of a fair trial. Outside the courtroom, police violently dispersed demonstrators who had gathered in support of the two MPs, leaving several people injured.
On July 1st, 2026, the appeal trial of Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem began at the Nouakchott West Court. The MPs’ lawyers were the only ones permitted to attend the hearing. Everyone else, including their relatives, was denied access to the courtroom.
Outside the court, numerous activists had gathered to show their support for the two MPs and to denounce a trial they demmed an attack on civil liberties. The demonstration was violently repressed by the authorities and a large number of people had to be taken to the hospital due to the injuries they sustained.
On July 8, 2026, the court handed down its verdict and sentenced Mariem Dieng and Ghame Salem to two years’ imprisonment on appeal, accompanied by a five-year deprivation of their civil and political rights. This decision results in the loss of their status as MPs and prevents them from standing for election during this period.
