Mauritania: Authorities Shut Down News Website for 'Damaging Diplomatic Relations'

Media Institute of Southern Africa
Press freedom.
26 August 2025
Media Foundation for West Africa (Accra)
press release

Mauritanian authorities have permanently shut down the Arabic-language news website Anbaa.info, citing alleged attempts to damage relations with Algeria. After being summoned by the Cybercrime Unit of the police on Monday, August 25, 2025, the editor-in-chief of Anbaa.info was informed that a complaint had been filed by the regulator, High Authority for Press and Audiovisual (HAPA), relayed through the Attorney General's office.

The complaint accuses the management of Anbaa.info of failing to comply with a decision taken a month earlier by the Ministry of Communication, which had revoked the site's license. According to explanations provided by officers of the Cybercrime Unit of the gendarmerie, this decision was made because the media outlet was accused of seeking to damage relations between Mauritania and Algeria. They claimed that certain analytical articles on Mauritania-Algeria relations, published from 2022 until now, had created tensions between the two countries. In March 2024, HAPA sanctioned Anbaa.info for "attacks against Algeria," rendering the site inaccessible for 60 days.

Contacted by the MFWA, the editor-in-chief of Anbaa.info stated that they had never officially received the previous month's directive from the regulator and only learned of it on August 25, the day of the summons. He also emphasised that their analytical articles had been produced in compliance with journalistic ethics and based on reliable sources.

Far from being discouraged by the permanent shutdown of the website, the management of Anbaa.info has decided to challenge the authorities through legal means, with the hope that justice will prevail and that the outlet will be able to resume its activities.

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The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) urges the Mauritanian authorities to reconsider the shutdown order as it constitutes a serious setback for press freedom, and risks muzzling independent journalism in Mauritania. We also urge the media regulator, the High Authority for Press and Audiovisual (HAPA), to adopt genuine, constructive, and collaborative approaches in addressing breaches of media regulations. Abrupt and permanent shutdowns risk depriving the public of access to information and denying media workers their livelihoods.

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