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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his period of incarceration has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his petition 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, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a half-decade imprisonment for illegal collaboration 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 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.

Historical Importance

Sarkozy, who served as France’s rightwing president 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I didn’t do … I could not have foreseen that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s hard, it’s extremely challenging. 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 said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation has made them suffer a lot.”

Legal Team 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 resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than within. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Current Status

The public attorney 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 security, in an private room 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 consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, postcards and parcels it said had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a volume. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, the famous work in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings 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 30 years.

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

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

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a clandestine financial agreement with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two separate cases and stripped of France’s highest distinction, the national recognition.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an electronic tag after being found guilty in a different matter of corruption and improper sway. 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 a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.