Mauritanian blogger says elite abusing religion to cling to power

A Mauritanian blogger who spent nearly six years in jail on blasphemy charges where he only "saw the sun six times" told AFP that the Islamic republic's ruling elite was misusing religion to retain its grip on power.

Aged only 36, Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkheitir walks with an old man's limp -- the result of a punishing stint in prison that ended with his release in July, the culmination of a sustained international campaign.

But his spirit seemed unvanquished as he spoke to AFP near the southwestern French city of Bordeaux, where he has started a new life.

He said he spent the first seven months in prison "in a cell two metres (6.5 feet) long and less than two metres wide with no furniture, toilets or a shower stall."
"This caste governs the state in the name of religion and it will not give it up easily."
The solution, he said, was a "secular state", which he conceded was "very difficult" but "not impossible", saying "determined youths" could usher in a "social revolution."