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The former French president has declared that his time behind bars has been “draining” 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.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy 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 verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Historical Significance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy stated to the judges 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 could not have foreseen 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 hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers 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 Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust 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 outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.

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 cook for himself but refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court 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 said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, 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 found guilty in a separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence 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.