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The former French president has stated that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background 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 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 legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who served as France’s conservative leader 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.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, 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 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 ordeal 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 said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this detention 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 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 self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will reveal its ruling 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 washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports 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 refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds 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.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.