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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment 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 challenged the ruling, 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.

Historical Importance

The former leader, who served as 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 go behind bars.

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 am innocent of … I could not have foreseen that at this stage of life, 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 attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom 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 restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he was concerned any food might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week shared a recording of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go without a response,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact 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 found not guilty of three separate charges of corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds 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 illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of corruption and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.