🔗 Share this article The former French president Portrays Life in Prison as ‘Exhausting’ and ‘a Nightmare’ Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to complete his jail term at home. Court Appearance from Prison Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers 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 Case The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. He has challenged the verdict, 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 served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars. Personal Statement Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea 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 ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.” He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.” Defense Lawyers Observations His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.” In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said. Current Status The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon. Prison Conditions The former president has been placed in isolation 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 ensure his safety. Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer. Encouragement from the Public His online presence last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.” Items in Prison Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge. Court Case Particulars During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades. Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya. He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy. Previous Convictions Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty 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 monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.