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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his time behind bars has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

The former president entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to secure financing for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but the court 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 initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit 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 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 witnesses 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 Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard 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, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.

Reports indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.