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Mauritania Blogger Sentenced to Death Is Released on Appeal

by Associated Press

   NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA --

   An appeals court in Mauritania has released a blogger who had been
   sentenced to death for an online post deemed blasphemous by
   authorities.

   The court in Nouadhibou city on Thursday sentenced Mohamed Cheikh Ould
   Mkhaitir to two years in prison and a fine. He has already served
   nearly four years, so he was released.
   Mkhaitir was arrested in January 2014 and charged with apostasy over a
   Facebook post that condemned the use of religion to justify
   discrimination against his caste.
   It was the first death sentence handed down for apostasy in Mauritania
   since the African nation's independence in 1960.
   Amnesty International welcomed the new ruling and called on authorities
   to ensure that he lives without threat of physical attack.