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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his stay in prison has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

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

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration 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 judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge took its course.

Historical Significance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Personal Statement

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on 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 visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail 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 announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been contaminated. 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 numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, 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 biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, 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 three decades.

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy 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 public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

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 convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.