The former French president has stated that his time behind bars has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.
Court Appearance from Behind Bars
Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”
Context of the Case
The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.
Unprecedented Importance
Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head 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 was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen 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 difficult, 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 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 Observations
His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”
In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.
Present Situation
The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.
Incarceration Details
Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.
Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer.
Encouragement from Outside
His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”
Personal Belongings
The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.
Court Case Particulars
During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.
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 separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.
Prior Legal Issues
Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the national recognition.
The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.
