🔗 Share this article

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to secure financing for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Current Status

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. 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 individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week shared a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter 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 innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two separate cases 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 separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.