🔗 Share this article

The former French president has stated that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers 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.”

Context of the Case

The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving 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 ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who served as 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.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants 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

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be safer 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 self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will announce its decision 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. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of piles of letters, cards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that case, 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 three months before being granted conditional release.