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The former French president has declared that his period of incarceration has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Case

The former president was admitted to 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 government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the appeals process proceeded.

Unprecedented Importance

The former leader, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

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

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and courageous man and this imprisonment has caused him great suffering.”

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

Current Status

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will reveal its ruling on Monday afternoon.

Incarceration Details

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 washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a recording of piles of letters, postcards and parcels it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The end of the story 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, the famous work in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to take revenge.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been involved in a criminal conspiracy to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the North African government formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of 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 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 electronic tag worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.