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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

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 told the court: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered 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 challenged the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit 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 forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “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 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 faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he said.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, 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 determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, 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 convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and improper sway. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.