03/09/2008
Mauritania plans to try recently ousted President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdellahi on a number of charges, including corruption, diverting public funds and obstructing parliament, local and international press reported on Tuesday (September 2nd). Four senators and four national assembly members were named to the new High Court of Justice and tasked with trying Abdellahi, who has been under house arrest since August 6th. The announcement that the deposed president will face prosecution comes a day after the United States, France and Mauritania's opposition National Front for the Defence of Democracy said they do not recognise the legitimacy of the government announced by the military junta.