Former Mauritanian president jailed for 15 years

Mauritania’s former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on corruption charges, following an appeal to a court in the capital, Nouakchott.

The ruling comes after both the state and Aziz’s defence team challenged a previous sentence handed down in 2023.

Abdel Aziz, who ruled the West African nation for 10 years after seizing power in a 2008 coup and winning an election in 2009, was originally given a five-year prison term in December 2023.

That verdict was met with appeals from both sides, state lawyers seeking a tougher sentence, and the defence arguing that only a high court of justice could legally try a former president.

"It is a decision that reflects the pressure the executive branch exerts on the judiciary," said Mohameden Ichidou, one of Abdel Aziz’s defence lawyers.

He added that the defence team would take the case to the Supreme Court.

Plaintiff lawyer Brahim Ebety, representing the Mauritanian state, welcomed the court’s decision, saying, "All the evidence has established that the former president, who single-handedly ruled the entire country, is the perpetrator of illicit enrichment, abuse of power, and money laundering."

Abdel Aziz was elected in 2009 and re-elected in 2014.

A peaceful transfer of power took place in 2019, when Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, once a close ally of Aziz, was elected president.

However, tensions grew between the two leaders, and the new parliament eventually brought corruption charges against Abdel Aziz.