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

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing 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 horrific experience.”

Background of the Case

Sarkozy was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a scheme to obtain funds for his election bid from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the ruling, but the court ruled that because of the “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process 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 serve time 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 could not have foreseen that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I confess it’s difficult, 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 defendants or witnesses 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.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation 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, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be safer outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Present Situation

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

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports indicated 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 declined the offer.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The end of the story has not yet been written.”

Personal Belongings

Sarkozy 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 Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding 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 not guilty verdicts, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the charges next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the allegations of a clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had faced, he had already been convicted in two different proceedings and stripped of France’s top honor, the national recognition.

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 dishonesty and influence peddling. In that case, he was given a 12-month sentence 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.