- The international rights organisation, Committee to Protect Journalists has called for the release of the editor of Taquadoumy information site, Hanevi Ould Dehah, saying his continued detention is illegal.
Mr Dehah remains behind bars even after completing his six-month imprisonment sentence which started in June and was expected to expire on 24 December 2009.
CPJ has said the refusal to free Mr Dehah appears to be unlawful and reflective of the politically motivated nature of the case.
The presiding judge, Ahmad al-Fal, has reportedly said he was powerless to free the editor because neither prosecutors nor prison authorities had filed the necessary paperwork to secure his release.
Dakar based organisation, African Rally for Human Rights (RADDHO), has urged Mauritania's highest authorities to respect human rights in accordance with Mauritania's international commitments.
The organisation has lashed the Mauritania’s authorities for the continued detention because the journalist is being held beyond the expiry date of the sentence.
The journalist has reportedly began a hunger strike on 28 December in protest of the authorities’ failure to release him.
Mr Dehah was detained in June and placed at Dart Naim Prison after being convicted of committing acts contrary to Islam and decent behaviour in connection with an article asserting the benefits of sex education.
He was acquitted at the same time on charges of defamation and inciting rebellion stemming from a Taqadoumy article that accused politician Ibrahima Moctar Sarr, head of the Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal, of improprieties.
The site is reknowned for critically reporting on the military junta that ruled the country from August 2008 its leader, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who is now Mauritania’s sitting president.
The site had also been temporarily blocked in March following the court order from the authorities.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.