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

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds 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 be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Historical Significance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president 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 be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president told the court 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 never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, 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 accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

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 restroom. Security personnel are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Accounts 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 cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy 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 breaks out to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor 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.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of corruption and influence peddling. 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 wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.