The Supreme Court of Mauritania on Tuesday upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which sentenced former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 15 years in prison with immediate effect. He was convicted of charges related to abuse of power and illicit enrichment. The court also ordered the confiscation of the former president's assets and the deprivation of his civil rights, thus closing the chapters of a trial described as the longest in the country's history. The Court of Appeal had issued its verdict in May, after which the defense team for the former president and the civil party (the state) filed appeals against it. The background of the case dates back to a parliamentary investigation that examined public files and contracts carried out during the rule of Ould Abdel Aziz, following the escalation of disagreements between him and his successor, President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, over the leadership of the ruling party. Lawyers for Ould Abdel Aziz confirm that the case is politically motivated, while the authorities insist that it is related to documented corruption cases.