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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has asserted that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he was present via remote connection at a judicial proceeding regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, dressed in a dark blue attire, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge 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 receiving a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme 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 the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Significance

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 first French postwar leader to be incarcerated.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court 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 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 confess it’s hard, it’s very hard. It has an impact 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 declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment 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 listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

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

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel 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 contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week shared a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it said 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 determined.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy brought with him 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.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

The accused maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been found guilty in two separate cases and stripped of France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter of dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor attached to his leg. He had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.