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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives 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 nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process took its course.

Unprecedented Significance

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

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 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 imposed on 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 witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside 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 strong, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, asserted Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. 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 97 square feet, with his own washing facility 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 contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Support from the Public

His online presence last week posted a recording of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader took into prison a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy 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 not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of dishonesty and improper sway. In that situation, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to complete it with an electronic tag attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.