The West African country of Mauritania continues to penalize slave owners nearly 40 years after the country abolished slavery. 

Slavery in the country wasn't abolished until 1981, over a century after the abolition of American slavery. As the effects of slavery continue to plague Black America, Mauritania is no different.

Despite ending slavery 37 years ago, the country didn’t criminalize it until 2007. In 2015, slavery was declared a crime against humanity. Most slave owners only received two to five years of imprisonment.

According to a report by the BBC, the Mauritanian courts are now giving harsher sentencing to slave owners. This comes after rights groups say that the country has jailed more anti-slavery activists than slave owners. Recently, two slave owners were given sentences of 10 and 20 years, the toughest punishment ever for the crime in the West African country.

The 10-year sentence was given to Revea Mint Mohamed, a woman who allegedly kept three slaves including a 29-year-old who had been kept since she was a small girl. The 20-year sentence was given to Hamoudi Ould Saleck, whose father received the same sentence posthumously although he died before the trial ended. These cases have been brought forth by former slaves with courts receiving 47 cases for investigation involving 53 suspects.

Nearly 43,000 people are still enslaved in Mauritania. Black people of certain ethnic groups are often enslaved as domestic workers by lighter-skinned Mauritanians. 

A prominent Mauritanian anti-slavery activist Biram Ould Dah Abeid remains unconvinced that true change is occurring. He believes the reports that Saleck was arrested may be false, calling the case "a show trial by the government to stop criticism from the international community."

It's always shocking when people argue that slavery ended years ago, because for many black brothers and sisters around the world, slavery is still a reality.