Nicolas Sarkozy Characterizes Existence in Prison as ‘Gruelling’ and ‘an Ordeal’

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance 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 pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure financing 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 “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Importance

The former leader, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

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 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 has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

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

Present Situation

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

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

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 convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.