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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and an “ordeal” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, 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 half-decade imprisonment for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who was France’s conservative leader 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.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy stated to the judges 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 forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s exhausting.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, robust and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be safer out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be approved. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own shower and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of piles of letters, cards and parcels it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

The former leader brought with him a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

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 corruption, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial 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 dishonesty and influence peddling. In that situation, he was given a 12-month sentence but was able to complete it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.