🔗 Share this article Nicolas Sarkozy Characterizes Existence in Jail as ‘Exhausting’ and ‘a Horrific Experience’ The former French president has declared that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to serve his sentence at home. Court Appearance from Prison Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.” Context of the Legal Situation Sarkozy entered the correctional facility 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 government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. He has challenged the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded. Historical Significance Sarkozy, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated. Emotional Testimony Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen 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 exhausting.” He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.” Defense Lawyers 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 said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and courageous man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.” In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said. Current Status The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon. Prison Conditions Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him. Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer. Support from the Public Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been written.” Items in Prison The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but breaks out to take revenge. Court Case Particulars During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades. The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya. He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy. Prior Legal Issues 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 convicted in two separate cases and stripped of 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 dishonesty and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.