Mauritania: Parents of Blogger Condemned to Death Seek Asylum in France

The parents of Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkheitir, a Mauritanian blogger condemned to death for apostasy, have filed asylum application in French embassy in Senegal arguing that their life has become a real hell for them in the North African country since the moment their son has been charged.

Both mother and father of Ould Mkheitir arrived in the Senegalese capital on December 13 and applied for asylum in France the following day, Alakhbar media reports citing a security source.

Ould Mkheitir was sentenced to death in 2014 for publishing on internet an article deemed religiously deviant and against Prophet Mohammed.

A court of appeal in the city of Nouadhibou, North-East of the country, confirmed the sentence in April this year but decided to hand over the case to the Supreme Court after Mkheitir repented from his action.

A forum of country’s Islamic clerics last month opposed the court willingness to grant the blogger clemency and urged the court to ignore his repentance.

Ould Mkheitir’s father has been reportedly fired from his job as prefect of Nouadhibou prefecture, since the publication of his son’s “controversial” article.