The former French president has declared that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.
Legal Proceeding from Prison
The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”
Background of the Legal Situation
Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure financing for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government 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 be incarcerated while the legal challenge took its course.
Historical Importance
Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.
Emotional Testimony
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 am innocent of … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess 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 defendants or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”
Legal Team Comments
His legal representative 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 resilient, robust and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”
In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, 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 emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.
Current Status
The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will announce its decision 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. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.
Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.
Encouragement from the Public
Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, cards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”
Items in Prison
The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.
Legal Proceedings Particulars
During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.
Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.
He was acquitted 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 accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.
Previous Convictions
Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.
The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being allowed limited freedom.
