00:01Mauritania's President Mohammed Oud Sheikh al-Aghouzani has pardoned two opposition lawyers
00:08who were sentenced to four years in prison after accusing him of racial discrimination
00:13against black Mauritanians and the descendants of enslaved people.
00:17The two MPs, Miriam Sheikh and Gamu Akhor, were convicted over social media posts
00:25alleging the president was promoting what they described as apartheid in Mauritania.
00:30Alongside the prison sentences, the court ordered the removal of the posts,
00:35confiscated the women's mobile phones and shut down their online accounts.
00:40Both lawmakers are members of the anti-slavery movement known as the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement.
00:48The case has renewed attention on the legacy of slavery in Mauritania
00:52where the practice was officially abolished in 1981,
00:55but rights groups say it continues to persist despite tougher laws introduced in 2015.
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