The former French president Characterizes Existence in Prison as ‘Draining’ and ‘an Ordeal’
Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his stay in prison has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.
Court Appearance from Prison
The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”
Context of the Legal Situation
Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy 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 the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.
Unprecedented Significance
The former leader, 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.
Personal Statement
The former president told the court 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 didn’t do … 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 admit it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”
He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”
Legal Team Observations
Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”
In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.
Current Status
The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.
Prison Conditions
The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.
Reports indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. 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 parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”
Personal Belongings
The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.
Court Case Details
During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.
Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated 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 illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.
Prior Legal Issues
Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of 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 monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, 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 granted conditional release.
