MAURITANIA

The ruling Republican Democratic Party swept general and local elections in October, and President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya remained firmly in control of the country.

Authorities have for years used prior censorship and Article 11 of the 1991 Press Ordinance to harass journalists who cover sensitive issues. Under the harsh statutes, the minister of the interior can ban any publication that undermines Islam, the state's authority, or public order, or that defames foreign heads of state. Any person who sells or disseminates a banned publication can be imprisoned and fined.

In April, Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah, a correspondent for two French radio stations, was temporarily banned from practicing journalism after the minister of communications objected to his reports on the state of relations between Senegal and Mauritania.

April 10

Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah, Radio Monte Carlo Middle East, Radio France International
HARASSED

Bah, a correspondent for two French radio stations, Radio Monte Carlo Middle East and Radio France International, was temporarily banned from practicing journalism after the minister of communications objected to his reports on the state of relations between Senegal and Mauritania.