A Mauritanian court will re-examine the case of a young blogger, Mohamed Cheikh Ould M'khaitir, who is facing execution following his death sentence for "apostasy" – the abandonment of Islam.
In a case that has shaken the nation, the young Mauritanian blogger and engineer was sentenced to death for apostasy in December 2014 over the publication a year earlier of an article entitled "Religion, Religiosity and Craftsmen" on the Aqlam Horra news website. Islamic organisations in mainly Muslim Mauritania said that the article constituted an "insult" to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
The nation's Supreme Court on Tuesday (31 January) had two options: either confirm or reverse the 21 April 2016 Appeal Court's decision to overturn M'khaitir's death sentence.
At the time, the Appeal Court had reclassified the charges against the young blogger from "apostasy" to "unbelief (of Allah)" – a lighter charge. As part of its ruling, the Appeal Court had also taken into account M'khaitir's repentance, and had demanded that the Supreme Court made a ruling on M'khaitir's "sincerity". [International Business Times] Read more
