Latest news with #Nouakchott
Free Malaysia Today
29-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Former Mauritanian president jailed for 15 years
The former president led the country for a decade after coming to power in a 2008 coup. (EPA Images pic) NOUAKCHOTT : Mauritania's former president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday 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 Dec 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.
Arab News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Jeddah governor receives US consul general
Jeddah Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi received Consul General of the US in Jeddah Rafik Mansour in the coastal city on Sunday. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and other topics of common interest, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League and chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, inaugurated the Museum of the Prophet's Biography in Nouakchott alongside the president of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, as part of the museum's international expansion plan.
