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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison 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 entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to secure financing for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government 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 be incarcerated while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Importance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president 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 be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment 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 outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

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.

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Accounts suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” 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 illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.