The former French president Portrays Life in Prison as ‘Draining’ and ‘an Ordeal’

Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, 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 commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context of the Case

The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Significance

The former leader, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

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 never confess 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 extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or testifiers 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.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on 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 visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.

Reports indicated 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.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

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 dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being allowed limited freedom.