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The former French president has declared that his time behind bars has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives 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 Case

The former president entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to secure financing for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Significance

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 be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

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 didn’t do … 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 difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

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

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney 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 state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.