Nicolas Sarkozy Portrays Existence in Prison as ‘Draining’ and ‘a Horrific Experience’
Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.
Legal Proceeding from Prison
The former leader, dressed in 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 prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”
Context of the Case
Sarkozy entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
He has appealed against the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.
Historical Importance
Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.
Emotional Testimony
Sarkozy 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 am innocent of … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. 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 said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”
Defense Lawyers Comments
Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside 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 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 safer outside jail than inside. “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 said.
Current Status
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 placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.
Reports indicated 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 refused this.
Support from the Public
Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”
Items in Prison
The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.
Court Case Particulars
During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.
Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding 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 judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.
Previous Convictions
Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, 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 found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term 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.
