🔗 Share this article

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure financing for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

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 didn’t do … I never imagined 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 exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

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 cook for himself but refused this.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

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

Court Case Particulars

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

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.