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The former French president has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a plan to secure financing for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I am innocent of … I never imagined 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 leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

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

Defense Lawyers Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on 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 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 self-harmed,” he stated.

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 safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own shower and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested 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 posted a recording of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, 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 written.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

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 separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being convicted 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 worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.