Former Mauritanian president jailed for 15 years following appeal

Mauritania's former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, was on Wednesday sentenced to 15 years in prison on corruption charges following an appeal to a Nouakchott court by both the state and Aziz's defence against a sentence imposed in 2023.

Abdel Aziz led the West African country for a decade after coming to power in a 2008 coup, followed by an election a year later. He was an ally of Western powers fighting Islamist militants in the Sahel region.

Abdel Aziz, who has denied corruption allegations, was found guilty of economic crimes and abuse of power. He was initially handed a five-year prison sentence in December 2023 before the state appealed against the leniency of that punishment and Aziz's team appealed the ruling, saying only a high court of justice was qualified to try a former president.

"It is a decision that reflects the pressure the executive branch exerts on the judiciary," defence lawyer Mohameden Ichidou told Reuters, adding that the defence would appeal against the decision to the Supreme Court.

Brahim Ebety, one of the plaintiff lawyers for the Mauritanian state, welcomed the ruling.

"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," he said.

Abdel Aziz was elected on a five-year mandate in 2009 and for a second term in 2014. An election in 2019 led to a peaceful transfer of power to Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, initially an ally of Abdel Aziz, but whose parliament later brought charges against him.