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The former French president has declared that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen 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 very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or testifiers 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 Observations

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

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than inside. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts 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 refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

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

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, 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 improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.