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The former French president has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

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

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII 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 didn’t do … I never imagined that at this stage of life, 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 said he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure 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 injured themselves,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts suggested 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 declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week shared a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Particulars

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 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president 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 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.