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The former French president has stated that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

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

Context of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to secure financing 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 “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president 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 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 hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

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

Defense Lawyers Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and brave man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

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 safety, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to protect him.

Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him 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 Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged 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 Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and lost France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a separate case of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.