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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via video link at a court hearing regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy was admitted to 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 election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I am innocent of … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or witnesses 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.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable 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, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Current Status

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

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases 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 electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.