Thirty-five Mauritanians who had been detained in Mali returned home on Wednesday, a government spokesman said, alleging some had been tortured during an episode that caught national attention.
Political Context
They were greeted by the regional governor, officials, and family members who were seen crying and hugging their relatives in footage posted online by AMI. It cited a government official as saying that Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani had intervened to help assure their return.
The individuals had been suspected of being terrorists, a foreign ministry source and a police source told AFP in Mali, where allied jihadists and separatists have recently carried out a series of attacks. “This situation stems from the security issues facing that country, which lead its authorities to harbour unfounded suspicions regarding our citizens,” he said. Mauritania’s government spokesman told a press conference late on Wednesday that the accusations were unfounded, and alleged torture. The individuals were released on Friday following intervention by the Mauritanian embassy in Bamako, the Malian foreign ministry source said. The detainees, who were held for almost three weeks, returned on a Mauritania Airlines flight to Nema, in the country’s far southeast, on Wednesday afternoon, the state-run Mauritanian News Agency said.
