Nicolas Sarkozy Describes Life in Jail as ‘Gruelling’ and ‘a Nightmare’
Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.
Court Appearance from Prison
Sarkozy, wearing 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 correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”
Background of the Legal Situation
Sarkozy entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan 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 “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, 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 first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.
Personal Statement
The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen 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 hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”
He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”
Defense Lawyers Comments
Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to 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 detention has caused him great suffering.”
In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than inside. “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 said.
Current Status
The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.
Prison Conditions
Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.
Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.
Support from the Public
Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of piles of letters, cards and packages it claimed 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 final chapter has not yet been written.”
Personal Belongings
The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.
Court Case Details
During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.
The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.
He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds 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 illegal collaboration.
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 convicted in two different proceedings 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 electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.