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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, 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 prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to 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 challenged the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the first French postwar leader to go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy 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 exhausting.”

He said 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 made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to 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 been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, 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 adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom 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 washing facility 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 meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” 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 breaks out to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of 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 public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being allowed limited freedom.