Yes.
Of the 21 persons who were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years, five are still in prison serving five-year sentences. The others have been released in response to international pressure.
Since then, the Mauritanian government has reinforced this system of repression. I was previously able to hold meetings at my home and in other private homes, but the repression has been stepped up to such a degree that I have been unable to travel since I was released from prison in 2016. When I enter Mauritania, I am required to stay at my home under house arrest. I cannot go elsewhere and am unable to leave my home. Police surround my house. When I go out, police officers tell me I cannot do so. If I leave the country, they accompany me to the airport or to the Senegal border. I am prohibited from entering the towns, villages, and neighbourhoods or from meeting people. All of my friends who are the leaders of the organization are still subject to the same ban.
In addition, the international community has denounced Mauritania but has not cut off economic and military aid to the country. The Mauritanian regime receives a great deal of money from the European Union for fishing and mining co-operation purposes. It also receives a lot of money for co-operation with U.S., Canadian, and French corporations operating gold mines and iron mines and developing oil deposits. It also receives significant military aid from the United States and the European Union for anti-terrorism co-operation under which training is provided to Mauritanian military personnel and police officers. However, that training is used against us. Officers who receive training in the United States, France, and Germany punish and torture anti-slavery and human rights activists and members of the civil rights movement who want to bring democracy to Mauritania.
We hope economic sanctions will be introduced in addition to diplomatic pressure.