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The former French president has stated that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, 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 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 plan to secure financing for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

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

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … 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 confess it’s difficult, 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 accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

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 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 stated.

Current Status

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

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Reports suggested 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 cook for himself but declined the offer.

Encouragement from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story 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 wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

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

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations 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 separate cases and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.