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The former French president has asserted that his time behind bars has been “gruelling” and a “horrific experience” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his application to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, 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 acknowledge all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

The former president was admitted to the correctional facility in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for criminal conspiracy over a plan 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 “serious nature” of his conviction, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Significance

The former leader, 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.

Personal Statement

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I was completely unaware or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit 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 hard, it’s very hard. It leaves a mark on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He stated he would not attempt to enter into contact with any defendants or witnesses in the case. He declared: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This ordeal has caused them pain a lot.”

Legal Team Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the remote connection facility, stated: “Being in solitary confinement has been very hard for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and brave man and this detention has caused him great suffering.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, 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 adjacent room when a prisoner injured themselves,” he stated.

Present Situation

The state prosecutor Damien Brunet asked that Sarkozy’s request for release be granted. The court will announce its decision on Monday afternoon.

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own security, in an individual cell of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and toilet. Two bodyguards are stationed nearby to ensure his safety.

Reports suggested that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he was concerned any meal might have been tampered with. He had been offered the facilities to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from the Public

His online presence last week shared a video of piles of letters, postcards and packages it claimed had been sent to him, including a collection, a chocolate bar and a book. “No letter will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy took into prison a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but breaks out to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Details

During Sarkozy’s three-month trial, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and stated he had not been part of a illegal scheme to seek election funding from Libya.

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

Previous Convictions

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the most significant legal case Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings 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 corruption and improper sway. In that case, he was given a one-year jail term but was able to serve it with an ankle monitor worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for three months before being granted conditional release.