🔗 Share this article Nicolas Sarkozy Portrays Life in Jail as ‘Exhausting’ and ‘a Horrific Experience’ The former French president has asserted that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” 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 The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.” Background of the Case The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence 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 appealed against the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded. Unprecedented Significance Sarkozy, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to go behind bars. Personal Statement The former president stated to the judges 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 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.” He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.” Legal Team Observations Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.” In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated. Present Situation The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. 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 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety. Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer. Encouragement from Outside His online presence last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been written.” Items in Prison 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 sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge. Legal Proceedings Particulars During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades. Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya. He was acquitted of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again 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 faced, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur. Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that case, 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 three months before being granted conditional release.