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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his stay in prison has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

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 appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

Sarkozy, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea 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 this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, 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 accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and brave 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 inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Incarceration Details

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a life story of Christ 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 Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, 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 found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.