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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

Sarkozy, who was France’s rightwing president 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy 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 never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit 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 accused individuals 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.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Current Status

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president 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 protect him.

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 prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison 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 take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty 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 seek election funding from Libya.

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

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 highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.