🔗 Share this article

The former French president has declared that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table 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 made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context of the Case

The former president entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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

Historical Importance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court 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 never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal 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 accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Current Status

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

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room 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 consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

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

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

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

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 different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.