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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence 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 judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s rightwing president between 2007 and 2012, is the initial ex-leader of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to go behind bars.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges 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 didn’t do … 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 extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

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

Legal Team Observations

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

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be safer 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 self-harmed,” he stated.

Current Status

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

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are stationed nearby to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Support from the Public

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but breaks out to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Details

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption 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 seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of dishonesty, 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 charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of corruption and influence peddling. 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 allowed limited freedom.