🔗 Share this article Nicolas Sarkozy Describes Life in Jail as ‘Draining’ and ‘an Ordeal’ The former French president has declared that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and an “ordeal” as he was present via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home. Legal Proceeding from Prison The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend 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 The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign 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 guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course. Unprecedented Importance The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader 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. Emotional Testimony The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge 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 defendants or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.” Defense Lawyers Comments Sarkozy’s lawyer 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 strong, durable and courageous man and this detention has caused him great suffering.” In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room 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. Incarceration Details Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety. Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer. Support from the Public Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.” Personal Belongings The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to take revenge. Legal Proceedings 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 three decades. The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya. He was acquitted of three separate charges of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy. Previous Convictions Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two separate cases 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 corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.