🔗 Share this article

The former French president has declared that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Significance

The former leader, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I didn’t do … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Current Status

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

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, 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 dishonesty and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.