🔗 Share this article

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president 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 go behind bars.

Personal Statement

The former president told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers 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.”

Legal Team Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this detention 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 inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

His online presence last week posted a recording of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

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 corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being allowed limited freedom.