Mauritania’s president has pardoned two opposition lawmakers whose imprisonment over accusations of racial discrimination ignited a fierce national debate about slavery, racism and free speech in the country.

The lawmakers, Mariem Cheikh and Ghamou Achour, had been sentenced to four years in prison after publishing social media posts accusing President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani of marginalising Black Mauritanians and the descendants of enslaved people. In their posts, they described government policies as a form of “apartheid,” language that prosecutors argued incited hatred and undermined national cohesion.

A court not only handed down prison terms but also ordered the removal of the contested posts, the confiscation of the women’s mobile phones and the closure of their online accounts. Rights advocates say those measures highlight the growing use of digital speech laws to silence critics in Mauritania and across the wider Sahel region.

Cheikh and Achour are prominent members of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement, a group that has long campaigned against the enduring legacy of slavery in Mauritania. Although slavery was formally abolished in 1981 and criminalised more forcefully in 2015, international and local human rights organisations report that hereditary servitude and caste-like hierarchies still affect tens of thousands of people.

Their conviction drew condemnation from rights groups, which argued that the case reflected a broader pattern of targeting anti-slavery activists rather than addressing the abuses they denounce. Analysts say the presidential pardon appears aimed at easing political tensions, but it does not erase the convictions or reverse the restrictions imposed on the lawmakers’ digital presence.

The episode has sharpened public discussion over who gets to define national unity in a country where Arab-Berber elites have historically dominated political and economic life, while Black Mauritanians and Haratin, the descendants of enslaved people, report systemic discrimination.

Legal experts and activists now question whether the pardon will be followed by deeper reforms, including stronger protections for freedom of expression and more robust enforcement of anti-slavery laws. For many Mauritanians, the release of Cheikh and Achour is a symbolic victory, but also a reminder that the struggle over race, power and historical injustice is far from resolved.