Mauritania's public prosecution said the preliminary investigation in what is known as the "bloggers case", referred to the State Security Directorate, is being conducted in line with constitutional and legal safeguards, and that it is protecting the suspects' rights and the legal time limits for police custody.
In a statement, the prosecution said Article 58 of the Code of Criminal Procedure guarantees respect for the dignity of people deprived of their liberty and prohibits any form of ill-treatment or torture, adding that it supervises the judicial police to ensure these rules are observed at every stage of the investigation.
On the suspects' right to contact their lawyers, the prosecution said the law allows that contact to be postponed when the investigation requires it, at the reasoned request of the judicial police officer in charge and under the applicable legal conditions.
It added that the final paragraph of the same article excludes suspects in state security and terrorism offences from the right to contact their lawyers for the whole period of police custody, while their other legal safeguards continue to apply.
The prosecution said it would keep monitoring compliance with the legal custody periods, depending on the nature of the offences, and take the required judicial steps when they expire. It said applying the law, protecting rights and freedoms and maintaining public order are responsibilities it exercises independently and impartially, and that all proceedings in the case remain subject to the principle of legality.
