Mauritania
Ely Ould Dah
Type of liability
Personne physique
Alleged perpetrator(s)
Ely OULD DAH
Nationality of alleged perpetrator(s)
Mauritanian
Legal classification of crime(s)
Torture and acts of barbarity
Source of the complaint
NGO
Victim
Ongoing proceedings
non
Regime
2 - 689-1 CPP
Summary of facts
Captain Ely Ould Dah was, at the time of the alleged acts, an intelligence officer at the Jreïda prison base, responsible for obtaining confessions from Black Mauritanian soldiers. During the arbitrary arrests carried out by the Mauritanian government from 1990 to 1991, Ely Ould Dah allegedly committed numerous abuses. As a lieutenant in the Mauritanian armed forces, he allegedly tortured several Black Mauritanians to death.
He was not punished in Mauritania.
Legal proceedings
July 2, 1999: The Public Prosecutor’s Office issues its initial prosecution submission; Ely Ould Dah is indicted on charges of “torture and acts of barbarity” by the investigating judge of the Montpellier High Court. He is placed in pre-trial detention.<br />
September 28, 1999: He is released under judicial supervision at the request of his lawyers.<br />
October 8, 1999: The Public Prosecutor’s Office issues a supplementary prosecution submission so that the investigating judge can investigate further acts of torture attributed to Ely Ould Dah.<br />
January 5, 2000: The defense lawyers file an application for annulment of the proceedings. It is argued on February 17, 2000.<br />
March 14, 2000: The Indictment Chamber of the Montpellier Court of Appeal dismisses the defense application, finding that the proceedings contained no procedural defects.<br />
April 5, 2000: Ely Ould Dah flees France and returns to Mauritania. An investigation is opened in France to determine the circumstances of his escape.<br />
May 25, 2001: The investigating judge issues an indictment order committing Ely Ould Dah to the Assize Court.<br />
June 20, 2001: Ely Ould Dah’s lawyer appeals the indictment order.<br />
November 8, 2001: The Investigating Chamber of the Montpellier Court of Appeal declares Ely Ould Dah’s appeal inadmissible as out of time. Ely Ould Dah’s lawyer files an appeal to the Court of Cassation.<br />
March 6, 2002: The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation quashes the decision of the Montpellier Investigating Chamber and remits the case to the Nîmes Court of Appeal.<br />
July 8, 2002: The Investigating Chamber of the Nîmes Court of Appeal orders the indictment of Ely Ould Dah before the GARD Assize Court.<br />
July 15, 2002: Ely Ould Dah appeals to the Court of Cassation.<br />
October 24, 2002: The Court of Cassation dismisses Ely Ould Dah’s appeal and sends the case to the Nîmes Assize Court for crimes of torture on the basis of universal jurisdiction, so that it may rule on his guilt. The Ould Dah trial must therefore take place, even in the absence of the accused, in accordance with the procedure known as contumace (trial in absentia).<br />
March 3, 2003: The lawyer for the civil parties sends the Prosecutor General of the Nîmes Court of Appeal a request to place the Ely Ould Dah case on the Assize Court’s list for the May-June 2003 session.<br />
July 1, 2005: The Nîmes Assize Court sentences Mauritanian Captain Ely Ould Dah in absentia to the maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment for crimes of “torture” against Black African soldiers in 1990 and 1991.</p>
Complaint
Names of NGOs / Victim(s)
FIDH
Legal basis for jurisdiction (article)
Court of Assizes judgment
Court of Cassation ruling
Sources
LDH, « Affaire Ely Ould Dah : Bientôt deux ans d'attente injustifiée », 2004
FIDH, « Mauritanie - Ely Ould Dah - Ely Ould Dah condamné ! », 2005
Le Monde, « La Cour européenne consacre le principe de la compétence universelle », 2009