Supporting the imprisonment of former Mauritanian President Ould Abdel Aziz for 15 years and the confiscation of his property

Today, Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Mauritania upheld the ruling issued by the Court of Appeal to imprison former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz for 15 years with effective imprisonment, after convicting him of charges related to exploitation of influence and illicit enrichment.

The court also decided to confiscate the former president’s property and deprive him of his civil rights, thus closing the chapters of a trial described as the longest in the country’s history.

The Court of Appeal issued its ruling last May, before the former president’s defense team and the civil party (the state) filed two appeals against him.

The background of the file goes back to a parliamentary investigation that dealt with public files and deals that took place during Ould Abdel Aziz’s rule, after the dispute escalated between him and his successor, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, against the backdrop of the conflict over the leadership of the ruling party.

Ould Abdel Aziz’s lawyers confirm that the case is politically motivated, while the authorities insist that it relates to documented corruption files.