Nicolas Sarkozy Describes Existence in Jail as ‘Draining’ and ‘an Ordeal’
Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.
Legal Proceeding from Prison
Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”
Context of the Legal Situation
The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving 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 took its course.
Unprecedented Importance
The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.
Personal Statement
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 didn’t do … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”
He said 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 caused them pain a lot.”
Legal Team Comments
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 resilient, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”
In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.
Current Status
The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.
Incarceration Details
Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.
Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt 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
His online presence last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, cards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, 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 took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.
Court Case Particulars
During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.
Sarkozy maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.
He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.
Previous Convictions
Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.
Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and influence peddling. 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 a quarter year before being granted conditional release.
