The former French president Describes Existence in Prison as ‘Gruelling’ and ‘a Horrific Experience’
Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.
Legal Proceeding from Prison
The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, 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 being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan 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 guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.
Historical Significance
The former leader, who was 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 stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or desire 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 ordeal that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”
He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”
Legal Team Observations
Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and courageous man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”
In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.
Present Situation
The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.
Incarceration Details
Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.
Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer.
Encouragement from the Public
His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”
Items in Prison
The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.
Legal Proceedings Details
During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.
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 unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.
Previous Convictions
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 convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.
The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.
