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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

The former leader, wearing a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a plan to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime 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 conviction, 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 initial ex-leader 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 desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … 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 difficult, it’s very hard. 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 am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt 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

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story 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, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators 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 acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

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

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.