News reports: Political and judicial developments in Mauritania, Libya and Sudan

On Tuesday evening, the Criminal Chamber of the Mauritanian Supreme Court issued a final decision rejecting the appeal submitted by parliamentarians Maryam Sheikh Jenk and Qamo Ashour Salem, and upholding the appeal ruling depriving them of civil and political rights for 5 years, in a development that opens the door to officially declaring their seats in parliament vacant.

The two deputies belong to the “Ira” human rights movement, and entered parliament through the “Al-Sawab” party, which has Baathist nationalist tendencies. The case goes back to last April, following a live broadcast on the social networking site “Facebook,” during which the two parliamentarians criticized President Mohamed Ould Sheikh Al-Ghazouani, in statements that the Public Prosecution considered included an attack on national symbols, an insult to the President of the Republic, and incitement to violence.

The two parliamentarians were arrested under a case of “flagrante delicto,” which allows parliamentary immunity to be exceeded exceptionally. In May, the Western Nouakchott Court issued a ruling to imprison them for 4 effective years, which the Court of Appeal reduced in July to two years, with the addition of deprivation of political rights for 5 years, which is the part that directly affects their parliamentary membership.

After the Court of Appeal’s decision was issued, President Ould Ghazouani issued a presidential pardon that waived the prison sentence, but excluded the deprivation of political and civil rights, while the Constitutional Council subsequently issued a decision stating that it was not possible to confirm that the two deputies had lost their parliamentary status at that stage.

The Council based its decision on the fact that the ruling of the Court of Appeal, issued at that time, had not yet become final because it was still subject to appeal before the Supreme Court. Consequently, the two parliamentarians returned to Parliament temporarily after the guards had prevented them from entering earlier. However, this return was not without additional tension, as Parliament later imposed disciplinary sanctions against them, including temporary expulsion, following a sit-in they organized inside the building.

Today, the deprivation ruling has become final by the decision of the Supreme Court, as it is expected that the procedures for their exit from Parliament will begin to be replaced by others from the same party.

The court's decision sparked an intense political controversy, as the Al-Sawab Party, in a statement, criticized the Supreme Court's decision, considering that it falls within the "policy of silencing the voices of opponents" and restricting parliamentarians, citing Article 50 of the Constitution, which prohibits the prosecution of any representative because of his opinion or vote while performing his duties.

The interim “national unity” government seeks to expand security cooperation with the United States, in conjunction with moves to rearrange the security and military map in Tripoli, during the visit of the Interior Minister-designate Imad Trabelsi to Washington, which included meetings with prominent American officials.

Trabelsi met with Massad Boulos, the US President's senior advisor for Arab and African affairs, and Wayne Wall, the special assistant to the president and director for Middle East and African affairs at the US National Security Council, late Tuesday evening, Tripoli time.

The discussions included, according to a government statement, a security cooperation agreement between the two countries, supporting the capabilities of the security services and exchanging experiences, in addition to combating irregular migration and enhancing border security.

Former Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, 80 years old, was transferred from the city of Meroe in the north of the country to Aliya Military Hospital, affiliated with the Medical Corps in the capital, Khartoum, to continue treatment and undergo examinations, in light of the appearance of symptoms whose causes were unknown.

His lawyer, Muhammad Al-Hassan Al-Amin, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday that his client was transferred to Khartoum two weeks ago for periodic examinations, stressing that “there is nothing new in his health condition.” However, he indicated the appearance of some symptoms whose “causes have not been identified,” which may require him to travel outside the country later to undergo examinations using advanced equipment.