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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend 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

The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after receiving a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration over a scheme 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 judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge took its course.

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, 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 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 never confess 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 admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has made them suffer a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and courageous man and this detention 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 inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts 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 petition for freedom be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy 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 occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports indicated 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.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week shared a recording of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go without a response,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is sentenced to jail but escapes to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the public attorney also appealed against 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 North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost 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 one-year jail term 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.