Mauritanian Islamists are freed

By Pascale Harter
BBC News, Mauritania

Col Vall has promised his will be a caretaker government

The military council which overthrew the president of Mauritania last week has begun releasing political prisoners held under the ousted government.

Twenty-one men accused of Islamic extremism by the fallen regime of Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya were released to cheering crowds on Sunday.

On Saturday, the junta which has seized control assured political parties none of its members will stand for office.

But it has appointed a member of the ousted government as prime minister.

Blow to support

The decision to get long-standing politician Sidy Mohamed Ould Boubacar to form a new government angered political parties - which have generally supported the coup - as he had previously served under Mr Taya.

The leader of the military coup, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall has promised elections within two years.

The release of members of Mauritania's popular Islamic movement was greeted with celebrations on the streets of the capital, Nouakchott.

Around 1,000 Mauritanians waited on the sandbanks in the midday sun to see the release of their spiritual leader from prison.

Political prisoners

Mohamed el Hassan Ould Dedaw, a former Imam from Nouakchott, was one of 52 members of the movement to have been held for months without trial.

The decision by the military council to release the Islamists, just days after seizing power in a bloodless coup, is seen as confirmation that they were in fact political prisoners.

Members of the Islamic movement say their leaders were imprisoned as part of an attempt by the ousted president, Mr Taya, to crush all opposition.

Under Mr Taya, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania became one of only three members of the Arab League to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.

The move was unpopular with the public, as was the presence of American special forces in the vast desert country.