Mauritanian authorities release wife, brother of Hanana

The authorities in Mauritania released the wife and brother of the Mauritanian officer Saleh Weld Hanana who is accused of leading three coupe attempts against the regime.

News reports said that the authorities in Mauritania refused to permit the wife of Hanana and his brother to meet with the gathering who were lining in front of the prison upon releasing them and they were transported to their house on Tuesday evening.

Hundreds of relatives, and friends were waiting for the two released persons after they had spent a great deal of the day before the police center demanding their release.

The Mauritanian authorities which arrested them for several hours at a police center in one of Nouakchott quarters did not give any explanation on the reason behind their detention and the reasons behind their release.

Aminah, the wife of the detained Mauritanian officer arrived on Tuesday in Nouakchott with her children from al-Eyoun area, 800 Km to the east of the capital, and received several journalists announcing her desire to meet with her husband who she said she had not seen since June 2003.

She demanded her husband to receive fair trial and the authorities to ensure his psychological and physical safety.

In a statement before she was arrested, she said she has been frequently harassed by the authorities and her children are banned from enrolling in government schools.

On the other hand, the families of the military persons detained under the charge of organizing a coupe in Mauritania on Tuesday demonstrated in Nouakchott demanding the authorities to permit them to visit their relatives and asked for ensuring a just trial for them.

News reports said the demonstrators appealed international organizations to interfere to know the fate of the other detainees whose imprisonment sentence expired and their fate is still unknown.