Mauritanian journalist released after several days in police custody

Mohamed Ould Nema Omar, chief editor of Al Houriya, an Arabic weekly newspaper edited in Mauritania, was released on Saturday evening in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, after several days in police custody, sources said on Sunday. Omar’s arrest followed a complaint of “abuse and libel” against him by Mohamed El Hacen Ould Hadj, vice-president of the Senate. Several associations of the private media in Mauritania and Reporters without Borders (RSF), the international media freedom watchdog, strongly condemned the journalist’s arrest.