Police arrested ten men when a video that appeared to be Mauritania’s ‘first gay wedding’ began circulating on social media. Homosexuality is strictly illegal in the North African country and punishable by death under Sharia law, although there were no known executions in the past decade. The video prompted a public outcry in Mauritania and neighbouring countries such as Senegal, with the men accused of “acts contrary to morality, committing acts forbidden by Allah and circulating a ceremony of debauchery”. The Nouakchott police commissioner later acknowledged in a television interview that the event was not a same-sex wedding, as had been reported on social media, but a simple birthday celebration.