Mauritania sentences former rights chief

The Nouakchott criminal court on Sunday sentenced Mohamed Lemine Ould Dadda, Mauritania's former human rights commissioner, to three years in prison, with a fine of $100. He was also asked to reimburse $270,000. At the end of the hearing of the case which has been going on since May 29, the ex-human rights commissioner was found "guilty of having embezzled public funds" while handling an emergency programme. Ould Dada was arrested in September 2010 by the economic crimes police after an audit by the state and was forced by the auditors to reimburse 907,000 dollars. During the hearing, Ould Dadda defended himself by providing receipts to justify the expenditures during the execution of the programme. He also rejected all accusations of embezzling public funds and insisted that he was innocent. After the ruling, his advocates declared their intention to appeal while his close associates who were also present during the ruling, said that this was "an innocent man who has been unfairly sentenced to three years in prison".