🔗 Share this article

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance 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 informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

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

He has challenged the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

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 initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or intention 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 this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate 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.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust 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, asserted Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom 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 individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence 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 imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, 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 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 corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government 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 national recognition.

Sarkozy 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 complete it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.