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The former French president has declared that his stay in prison has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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

Historical Significance

Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy 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 am innocent of … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from the Public

His online presence last week posted a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in 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 involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money 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.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.