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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk 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 horrific experience.”

Context of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds 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 “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Historical Significance

Sarkozy, 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 initial leader since WWII 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 didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate 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.”

Legal Team Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on 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 faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

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 placed in isolation for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption 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 criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

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 convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.