Mauritania's detained former president hospitalised

Mauritania's former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, detained since mid-2021 over suspicions of corruption, has been admitted to a military hospital for "urgent care", a lawyer said Thursday.

The 65-year-old was transferred from a prison in the capital Nouakchott to the hospital Wednesday, his lawyer Mohameden Ould Icheddou told AFP.

"Members of his family visited him and said his situation is worrying but stable," he added, urging the authorities to fly him abroad for intensive care.

He said the family did not say what the former leader was suffering from.

Abdel Aziz served from 2008 to 2019 as the Sahel country's president, before former general Mohamed Ould Ghazouani replaced him.

He was charged in March with a raft of graft allegations including money laundering and illicit enrichment, then jailed in June.

Abdel Aziz has refused to appear before the judge investigating the accusations, and claimed he was the victim of "score settling".