The former French president Describes Life in Prison as ‘Exhausting’ and ‘an Ordeal’
The former French president has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.
Court Appearance from Behind Bars
The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table 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 Legal Situation
The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to secure financing for his 2007 presidential election campaign 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 took its course.
Unprecedented Significance
Sarkozy, 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 never had any idea or desire 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 forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”
He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”
Legal Team Comments
Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust 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 out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.
Present Situation
The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. 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. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.
Reports indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.
Encouragement from Outside
His online presence last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”
Items in Prison
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 sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.
Legal Proceedings Details
During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.
Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.
He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.
Previous Convictions
Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.
Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. 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 had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.
