Mauritania: Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz hospitalized, but still under police protection

Since June, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz has been imprisoned. If he has been placed in a villa, his conditions of detention are strict. The ex-Mauritanian president became uneasy and is now hospitalized.

Indicted in March - he is notably accused of corruption, money laundering, illicit enrichment or even squandering of public property - the former Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, was also accused of obstructing the conduct of justice, for not having respected the measures of its judicial control and disturbances to public order.

Indeed, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz did not seem really inclined to collaborate with the special commissioner in charge of economic crimes. So that, on June 22, the former president of Mauritania was placed under a committal.

His preventive detention, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz spent it in Nouakchott. For the former president, the authorities transformed a villa, located in the police academy complex, into a prison, thanks to a sleight of hand: a ministerial decree that allowed Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz not to be sent to a prison. The goal was to prevent him from contracting Covid-19.

Hospitalized after stroke

But for several days, the conditions of the former head of state seem to have deteriorated. Although he was previously allowed to receive daily visits - except on weekends - the former president was banned from walks. For the past week, he has now been allowed to go out for one hour a day to walk.

But last December 28, in the evening, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz suffered a stroke, according to his relatives, who say that the authorities took nearly three hours to transport him to the military hospital. According to Jeune Afrique, "Aziz" is "conscious", but "extremely weak".

Despite his condition, he is still under police protection. What are the authorities afraid of? For several weeks, surveillance cameras had been installed in his cell. Since he has been in the hospital, armored vehicles have parked in front of the building. The room of the former head of state is well guarded by the police.