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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his stay in prison has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to secure financing for his election bid from the regime 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 be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or desire 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 imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be safer out of prison 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 injured themselves,” he stated.

Current Status

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

Incarceration Details

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Court Case Particulars

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

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 separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.