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FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000658 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR EAID KPAO MR
SUBJECT: EMBASSY VISITS TO TWO SMALL PRISONS SUGGEST 
IMPROVING CONDITIONS IN MAURITANIAN PRISON SYSTEM 
 
REF: A. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1480 
     ¶B. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1483 
     ¶C. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1302 
     ¶D. 05NOUAKCHOTT 1070 
 
Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) 
 
--------------------- 
(U) Introductory Note 
--------------------- 
 
-- Mauritania has only prisons, no jails, and the prisons 
themselves can be quite small.  The cable below reports a 
recent Embassy visit to two small prisons of about a dozen 
inmates each, including those awaiting trial.  Regardless of 
the crime and regardless of adjudication, all inmates are 
held together.  Women and minors are housed separately, 
however. 
 
-------------- 
(C) Key Points 
-------------- 
 
-- Embassy Poloff visited two small temporary prisons in 
southeastern Mauritania May 18. 
 
-- The physical conditions in the prisons at Ayoun, which 
held 12 inmates, and Nema, which held 11, were predictably 
poor.  But none of the 23 inmates appeared afraid of the 
guards, and none appeared to have been mistreated. 
 
-- That was surprising.  ICRC reps had visited both temporary 
prisons just last month, and they reported seeing chained 
inmates who were "seriously frightened" of the guards. 
 
------------ 
(C) Comments 
------------ 
 
-- The ICRC attributes the improved conditions in the Nema 
prison to its strong complaint to the Director of Prisons 
about prison conditions.  The ICRC is probably right about 
the impact of its complaint.  International pressure to 
improve conditions in Mauritania's correctional facilities 
can be very effective. 
 
-- Also, prison officials outside the capital are receptive 
to international interest.  They know that such interest can 
generate resources for them from the central government. 
 
-- In close coordination with the ICRC, Embassy will continue 
prodding the Mauritanian central government to make further 
progress.  We think the Embassy and ICRC's interest in 
improving prison conditions have had an important impact. 
But much remains to be done in Mauritania's correctional 
facilities. 
 
End Introductory note, Key Points and Comments. 
 
¶1. (C) On May 18 Poloff visited two small prisons in the 
remote southeastern towns of Ayoun and Nema as part of an 
ongoing effort to investigate reports we have received 
alleging torture and  dreadful confinement conditions.  This 
was the Embassy,s first visit to these two prisons.  Poloff 
spoke with four Justice Ministry and prison officials, 11 
guards, and all 23 inmates. 
 
¶2. (C) Both prisons temporarily occupy buildings rented by 
the central government during the repair and reconstruction 
of permanent prisons in the two towns.  While work had not 
yet begun on either permanent correctional facility, Poloff 
visited both the old prisons and the temporary prisons in 
each town to get a sense of current and past prison 
conditions. 
 
¶3. (C) The physical conditions in the small temporary prisons 
of Ayoun and Nema proved no different from the physical 
conditions observed in PolOff's 2005 visits in the central 
prison in Nouakchott (currently housing 551 prisoners), or 
prisons in Nouadhibou (97 prisoners) and Rosso (43 prisoners) 
(reftels). 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000658  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) Significantly, and in stark contrast with PolOff's 
earlier visits to Mauritania's confinement facilities, the 
inmates in Ayoun and Nema did not appear afraid of the 
guards, nor did their appearances indicate obvious signs of 
maltreatment.  Several inmates did complain of insufficient 
food and a lack of space to exercise, but none reported 
maltreatment from guards. 
 
¶5. (C) Note: Poloff spoke to several inmates in relative 
privacy, giving them greater freedom to report maltreatment, 
but again no such reports were made.  End Note. 
 
¶6. (C) While the inmates appeared thin, none was obviously 
malnourished, and none appeared to be suffering from 
noticeable skin illnesses, in contrast to visits to other 
prisons in 2005. 
 
¶7. (C) As in the other correctional facilities, detainees 
awaiting trial were housed with those already convicted of 
various crimes.  In Ayoun, the longest period of detention 
among the four detainees awaiting trial was one month.  Of 
the four detainees in Nema, one had been waiting eight months 
for a trial, a second, six months. 
 
¶8. (C) Note: Jails in the United States typically confine 
persons before and after adjudication, of course.  Housing 
those awaiting trial, therefore, is not, in and of itself, a 
poor practice.  But the length of time spent awaiting trial 
seems to be a human rights abuse.  End Note. 
 
¶9. (C) Officials in both prisons indicated that inmates were 
only guaranteed one visit per year by a judge, meaning that a 
detainee could wait up to one year for a trial if the 
detainee had arrived at the prison just after the judge's 
annual visit. 
 
¶10. (C) Prison officials in Ayoun said that in response to 
their efforts to pressure judges to make more frequent 
visits, the Ayoun prison had already received two judicial 
visits in 2006.  A third is planned for July.  They credited 
these more regular visits with the shorter pre-trial 
detention periods for their detainees. 
 
¶11. (C) When asked about Mauritania's law requiring those who 
are arrested to be either tried or released from prison 
within one month, officials in both prisons said that 
detainees could be held longer than one month -- if the 
government needed more time to build its case.  Judges, in 
their annual visits, analyze each case and determine whether 
the detainee should be tried or released, the officials 
explained. 
 
¶12. (C) Ayoun prison officials have taken more steps to 
accelerate the processing of detainees awaiting trial than 
have prison officials in Nema.  But both prisons had shorter 
pretrial detention terms than the other facilities we visited 
in 2005.  Some detainees in those facilities had been held 
for several years without trial (see refs). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
DRAMATIC DIFFERENCES IN WHAT ICRC FOUND ONE MONTH EARLIER 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶13. (C) Following the prison visits, Poloff met with ICRC 
representative Juan Fuertes to compare findings.  The 
conditions observed in the Nema prison appeared to have 
changed dramatically in just one month. 
 
¶14. (C) ICRC reps had visited both prisons in April, and 
while the findings in Ayoun were quite similar, in Nema 
Fuertes reported that all inmates were shackled "at the 
wrists and ankles," and that inmates appeared "seriously 
frightened" of the guards.  During Poloff's visit to Nema 
only one inmate was in chains, and guards explained that this 
was a rare preventative measure for this particular inmate 
who had recently assaulted a guard.  (Embassy Note: Fuertes 
had previously advised Poloff on how to scan inmates for 
signs of torture or shackling.  Poloff preformed such scans 
and only saw one other inmate who showed signs of shackling, 
indicating that the other inmates had likely not been 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000658  003 OF 003 
 
 
shackled within at least the previous several weeks.  End 
note.) 
 
¶15. (C) Fuertes was "surprised and pleased" by post's 
findings of improved conditions.  He attributed the positive 
changes to ICRC's "strong denouncement of conditions to Mrs. 
Kane" (the Director of Prisons) following ICRC's April visit. 
 "We submitted our trip findings and urged Mrs. Kane to take 
action to improve these conditions," Fuertes said, adding 
that "I'm pleased that she apparently followed through." 
 
¶16. (C) When asked about the noticeable change in the 
perceived fear of the prisoners, Fuertes said "its 
surprising, but not completely...after several weeks to a 
month without being shackled or abused, prisoners would 
likely feel and appear more at ease." 
 
¶17. (C) Fuertes would not comment on whether the ICRC had 
seen indications of beatings or torture during their visit to 
Nema, though he left the strong impression that they had. 
 
----------------- 
PRISON CONDITIONS 
----------------- 
 
¶18. (C) The current Ayoun prison, which the government began 
renting in August 2005, is a large house that has had metal 
doors and bars installed to secure inmates.  There is poor 
lighting and sanitation, but the ventilation (aided by 
several ceiling fans) is good, which reduces the overall odor 
and keeps internal temperatures lower during the summer.  The 
house has three rooms/cells and a common toilet and shower 
room.  The abandoned prison, which is approximately 50 
percent collapsed, is a much larger facility with 8 cells 
around a common courtyard.  During Poloff's visit there were 
12 prisoners in Ayoun (eight convicted and four people 
awaiting trial). 
 
¶19. (C) The current Nema prison, which officials said has 
been used for several years, is a dilapidated structure that 
is partially collapsed.  The prison has proper prison doors 
and bars, and appears to have been constructed as a prison, 
rather than converted into one, as in Ayoun.  There are five 
cells, which during Poloff's visit housed 11 inmates (seven 
convicted and four detainees).  Sanitation and lighting were 
very poor, but ventilation was acceptable.  Inmates used a 
toilet and shower that they accessed through a partially 
collapsed wall.  The "permanent" prison was completely 
demolished and is now little more than a vacant lot and well. 
 
¶20. (C) Both prisons offered bread and Mauritanian tea for 
breakfast and either couscous or rice for dinner.  Inmates 
with medical ailments are sent to either a local doctor, or 
to the central prison in Nouakchott for treatment. 
 
¶21. (C) Both inmates and guards agreed that the prisons were 
in poor physical condition, and that these conditions 
resulted in additional hardships for inmates and guards 
alike.  Prison officials asked for the Embassy's help in 
getting the central government to provide the money needed to 
repair or rebuild the permanent prisons, and increase 
nutritional and medical services for inmates. 
LeBaron