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The former French president has stated that his time behind bars has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context of the Case

The former president entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

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 first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals 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 Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, 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 caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Security personnel are stationed nearby 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 offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, 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 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 encountered, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being allowed limited freedom.