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The former French president has stated that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers 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 nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime 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 took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president told the court 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 imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses 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

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, cards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor 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 clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, 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 a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.