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The former French president has asserted that his time behind bars has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he was present via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison 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 ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Historical Importance

The former leader, who was 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.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I never had any idea 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 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 said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or witnesses 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.”

Legal Team Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this detention 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 listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention 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

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Accounts suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been contaminated. 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 shared a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney 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 said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device 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 serve it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.