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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his stay in prison has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context of the Legal Situation

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

He has appealed against the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

Historical Importance

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 first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy 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 this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He said he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, 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 prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and courageous man and this detention 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 inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” 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.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual 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 entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

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

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty 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.