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The former French president has stated that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but the court 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 initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea 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 this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said 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 adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

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 security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations 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 separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

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 separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.