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The former French president has declared that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment 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 appealed against the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

Historical 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.

Personal Statement

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 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 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 defendants or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts indicated 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 prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail 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 dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims 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 electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence 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.