The former French president Portrays Life in Jail as ‘Exhausting’ and ‘a Nightmare’
Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his time behind bars has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.
Court Appearance from Behind Bars
The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”
Background of the Case
The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
He has appealed against the verdict, 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 Significance
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 initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.
Emotional Testimony
The former president stated to the judges 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 ordeal that has been forced upon 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 attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals 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.”
Defense Lawyers Comments
Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this detention has caused him great suffering.”
In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than inside. “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 state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.
Incarceration Details
The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.
Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.
Support from Outside
His online presence last week shared a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”
Personal Belongings
Sarkozy brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel 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 engaged in a “corrupt agreement” 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, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.
Prior Legal Issues
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 convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.
Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.