🔗 Share this article

The former French president has declared that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime 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 go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Historical Significance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader 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 desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, 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 prison video link room, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust 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 safer out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

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.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week shared a recording of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. 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 had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.