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

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government 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 be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to go behind bars.

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 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 confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult 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, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Prison Conditions

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

Accounts 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 prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him 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 escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

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

He was acquitted of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, 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 separate case of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.