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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison 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 exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure financing for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Historical Importance

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 initial leader since WWII to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

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 am innocent of … 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 confess it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants 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 Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be safer 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 said.

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

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement 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.

Reports indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.