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| - Mauritania's former president has refused to attend a hearing on Thursday set to examine his management of oil revenues while in office, among other issues, a parliamentary official said. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz first came to power in a coup in the West African country in 2008. He was elected president the next year, then re-elected in 2014. He did not seek re-election last year, when his former political ally, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, won the presidency. In January, Mauritania's parliament established a committee to investigate a range of issues from Abdel Aziz's time in office. These include the management of oil revenues, the sale of state-owned property in the capital Nouakchott and the liquidation of a state-owned food company. Abdel Aziz refused to acknowledge the receipt of a recent letter summoning him to appear before the parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, a parliamentary official who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case told AFP on Wednesday. The former president did not respond to requests for comment from AFP. The committee of inquiry cannot force Abdel Aziz to attend a hearing, according to legal experts. Lo Gourmo, a law professor, said that the committee must now report to the parliament, which can either vote to drop the investigation or bring a case before the high court. hos-lal/stb/eml/dl
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