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| - A Mauritania state prosecutor on Thursday requested corruption charges against former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, and about ten other senior figures, his office said. The prosecutor also asked that Aziz, one of his sons-in-law, two former prime ministers, five former government ministers and four businessmen be placed under judicial supervision. A judge in the vast Saharan country of 4.5 million people is due to decide on the request later Thursday. Aziz, 64, seized power in 2008 and served two terms as president before being succeeded in August 2019 by Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, his former right-hand man and ex-defence minister. Ghazouani has kept Aziz at arm's length since he came to power, however. Last year, Mauritania's parliament established a commission to investigate suspected embezzlement under Aziz. Among other issues, the inquiry probed the handling of oil revenue, the sale of state property, the winding up of a publicly owned food-supply company and the activities of a Chinese fishing firm. Police then detained Aziz in August for questioning in the case, before stripping him of his passport. The former president refused to answer their questions, however, and accuses Ghazouani of seeking to settle scores. hos/lal/eml/pma
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