Focus
Opening of the trial of former Mauritanian President Mohamed ould Abdel Aziz
Former Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in 2018 (Illustration image).
© Ludovic Marin/AP
Text by: Gaëlle Laleix Follow
4 mins
The trial of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz opens this Wednesday, January 25, in Nouakchott.
The former president is accused in particular of corruption, money laundering or illicit enrichment, during the ten years he was in power.
This trial is the culmination of nearly two years of legal proceedings with many twists and turns.
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It is in detention, in an unknown place, that Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz spent the night, before the opening of his trial this morning.
The former president was arrested by the police yesterday afternoon "
on simple summons, without notification of any warrant issued by a judge, on the occasion of the preliminary and compulsory formalities at the hearing
" explains in a press release
Maître Ly Ciré Clédor
, who adds that "
the political police are determined to humiliate
" his client.
Since the start
of the case
, relatives of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz have denounced a witch hunt.
“
Otherwise, how to explain that only my father, out of more than 300 people implicated, was the only one to be imprisoned
”, indignant Asma Abdel Aziz, the daughter of the former president.
Political manipulation
The line of defense of President Aziz's counsel is clear: it is a
political trial
that will be played out in the coming days.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's advisers believe that the current power in place is trying to get rid of the former president.
“
What can we expect from a trumped-up trial?
asks Master Taleb Khyar Mohamed.
The defense of the former president accuses the Ministry of Justice of having remotely guided the investigation of the case and calls into question the parliamentary investigation which led to the opening of legal proceedings.
“
In a republican system like ours, we have never seen a Parliament take on the profile of an accuser, continues Maître Taleb Khyar Mohamed.
The elements that triggered this procedure are mainly from parties hostile to Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
»
Historic anti-corruption trial
Words that do not worry the lawyers of the Mauritanian State, a civil party in this trial, who see it rather as a historic opportunity to fight against corruption.
“
This is the first time, in Africa and in the Arab world, that a president has been tried for acts of corruption,
” boasts Maître Brahim Ould Ebety, president of the group of Mauritanian state lawyers.
In this respect, this trial remains of historic scope: two years of proceedings, 12 defendants including a former president, two former prime ministers, several former ministers, an investigation file of nearly 5,000 pages, more than twenty of witnesses called to appear, and about sixty lawyers to plead.
The accounts of the State and public companies will be scrupulously scrutinized.
And the evidence is not lacking according to Maître Brahim Ould Ebety: "
there is the use of the State to seize an important real estate heritage, the use of the name of the State to intervene in public contracts, and an NGO, founded by the son of Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, used for money laundering.
»
According to lawyers for the Mauritanian state, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's assets have increased considerably during his ten years in power.
At the time of his indictment, in March 2021, he was valued at 67 million euros and according to Maître Brahim Ebety, investigations are still underway on his assets abroad.
Corruption, an endemic evil
The case is closely followed by civil society.
In May 2021, after the parliamentary inquiry, fourteen organizations came together in a National Anti-Corruption Alliance which filed a civil action.
“
That does not mean that this problem will be eradicated
,” concedes Mohammed Abdallahi Bellil, president of the Mauritanian Anti-Corruption Observatory.
It is a great phenomenon, with deep roots.
Corruption is not only found at the level of state institutions, it corrodes society itself.
»
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and his co-accused face sentences of up to 20 years in prison, but what really interests the civil parties, "
is the recovery of embezzled funds
", concludes Maître Ebety.
Whatever the outcome of this trial, its holding is considered historic in Mauritania, because it is the first time that a president has appeared in court for acts of corruption.
Mauritania has already tried and sentenced two heads of state, in 2003 and 1978, for violent crimes and attacks on state security.
►Also read: In Mauritania, creation of a National Anti-Corruption Alliance
[in May 2021]
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