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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has stated that his time behind bars has been “draining” and a “horrific experience” as he was present via video link at a court hearing regarding his request to complete his jail term at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, dressed in a dark blue attire, was visible on screen from prison on Monday, seated at a table with his legal representatives beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the prison staff, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president entered the correctional facility 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 regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has challenged the verdict, but the court ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the legal challenge proceeded.

Historical Significance

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 be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will never confess to something I didn’t do … 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 extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not attempt to enter into contact with any accused individuals or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Comments

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the remote connection facility, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, robust and brave man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than inside. “He has faced death threats, has listened to shouts at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

The public attorney Damien Brunet requested that Sarkozy’s petition for freedom 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 private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and restroom. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a recording of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account announced. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

The accused denied wrongdoing and said he had not been involved in a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

He was acquitted of three separate charges of corruption, improper handling of state money and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

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

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an electronic tag after being convicted in a separate case of dishonesty and improper sway. 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 wore the tag for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.