The former French president Characterizes Existence in Jail as ‘Gruelling’ and ‘a Nightmare’

The former French president has stated that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment 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 appealed against the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

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 initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I never had any idea 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 this stage of life, 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 exhausting.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable 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 safer out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.