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The former French president has declared that his time behind bars has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he was present via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from jail 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 horrific experience.”

Context of the Case

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed 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 challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Historical Importance

The former leader, 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 go behind bars.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge 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 exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants or witnesses 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 Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and brave 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 out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

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

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, 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 maintained his innocence and stated 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 illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag 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 ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.