Mauritanian authorities give their version of events after former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was prevented from leaving the country on Wednesday evening January 4th.
As he was about to take a flight to Paris, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was intercepted at Nouakchott airport, his passport was confiscated and he had to go home. Awaiting trial on corruption charges, the former Mauritanian president is not yet no longer under judicial control.
Mauritanian government spokesman Nani Ould Chrougha said he was to be summoned for questioning. “ On the morning of Wednesday January 4, the court in charge of the case informed public opinion by public posting that the date of judgment was set for January 25, 2023. Following this publication, shared on social networks and relayed by all media, the court also issued summons for questioning “says the spokesperson.
The latter returns to the facts at the airport leading to the confiscation of his passport: “ At 9 p.m., former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz showed up at the Air France counter. He did his formalities and it was at the border police counter that the [agents de la police des frontières, NDLR] noted that in the system, the person himself is the subject of a summons, which must be delivered by the judicial police services. And immediately, they retrieve the passport to ensure the delivery of the summons to the next day. What has been done. »
Staging a posteriori for the lawyers of the ex-president
For the government spokesperson, it was difficult to ignore the publication of this public posting ” very clear »recalling that the former president is« is surrounded by a multitude of lawyers and everyone knows that at the end of this display, once the date of the judgment has been set, that there is a summons, an interrogation, prior to the judgment. »
Reacting to these remarks by the government spokesperson, the defense of former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz denounced “ executive interference in legal proceedings » and denounces « staged a posteriori” to justify “ an assault », an obstacle to the freedom to travel without a legal basis.