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The former French president has asserted that his time behind bars has been “draining” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “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 horrific experience.”

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to secure financing for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

Sarkozy, who served as 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 be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy 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 didn’t do … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark 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 declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team 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 said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable 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 more secure outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention 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.

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 shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

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

Support from the Public

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

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

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

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges 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 faced, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for three months before being allowed limited freedom.