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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his time behind bars has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he was present via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table 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 horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy entered the correctional facility 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 regime 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 go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Historical Importance

The former leader, who served as France’s rightwing president 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 be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea 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 ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

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.”

Legal Team Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “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.

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 placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, 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 North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.