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The former French president has stated that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme 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 judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader 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 never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Incarceration Details

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals 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 sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.