M. Ould Imijine was arrested after having given an interview to the Al Arabiya satellite television channel, during which he explained the symbolic meaning of the President of the Initiative's act and called to effectively abolish slavery in Mauritania.

All of these arrests have been carried out without judicial warrants and the victims were brought to the Tawaragh Zeina police station in Nouakchott where they have been savagely tortured and forced to sign false confessions.

The President of the Republic himself, under the pressure of public opinion, has promised a severe sanction against these acts following demonstrations condemning the actions of anti-slavery activists, considering them as an attack on Islam.

No Mauritanian law allows criminal penalties for such acts. M. Ould Imijine and the six other activists have therefore been prosecuted for "an attack on the safety of the State," risking sentences of up to 30 years of imprisonment and even a possible death penalty for M. Ould Dah.

On 27 June 2012, they were presented before the criminal court of Nouakchott which highlighted that there had been serious violations of their rights, decided to halt the prosecution and file the case.

The Nouakchott Prosecutor however refused to release them, despite the court's decision, which is in violation of the domestic legislation and Mauritania's international obligations under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

Alkarama has submitted their case today to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, asking them to intervene with the Mauritanian authorities requesting that they respect their international obligations and release the seven anti-slavery activists who were arbitrarily detained.