🔗 Share this article

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his stay in prison has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a recording of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.