The Criminal Chamber of the Nouakchott West Court of Appeal decided on Monday December 23 to suspend the trial of former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, due to the “state of health” he presented before the Court. At the beginning of the hearing, Ould Abdel Aziz said that he had not slept last night “due to his state of health”, and asked the Court to postpone the hearing until his state of health improves.
Ould Abdel Aziz did not reveal the nature of his health problems, but the judge asked him whether he was able to continue the hearing or whether he was unable to do so, to which he replied: “I can continue if the court requires me to.” The judge decided to postpone the trial of the former president, accused of corruption and money laundering, until next Monday.
During the discussion on the adjournment, the former president’s defense team protested and called the continuation of the hearings a “disregard for the former president’s health,” and altercations took place between the defense team and the civil party’s lawyers.
Lawyer Ibrahim Ould M’Barek, a member of the former president’s defense, threatened to withdraw from the hearing, considering that “the law is not respected in this trial,” a threat rejected by the civil party’s defense team, which represents the state in the trial, considering that it is a form of pressure on the court.
Regarding his health, Ould Abdel Aziz said he did not trust the doctors appointed by the state to treat him, calling them a “bunch of butchers.”
Before the session was adjourned, the court began questioning the former president about the origin of his wealth, which he described as significant.
The judge asked him to explain the large gap between the assets declared to the state when he left power in 2019 and those recorded by investigators in 2021.
In his response, Ould Abdel Aziz portrayed himself as a victim and reaffirmed that he was the subject of an obvious political target by a group that “ganged up against him for purely tribal and regional reasons.”