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The former French president has asserted that his stay in prison has been “exhausting” and an “ordeal” as he appeared via video link at a court hearing regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, positioned at a desk with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to pay tribute to all the correctional officers, who are remarkably compassionate, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a horrific experience.”

Context 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 plan to secure financing for his election bid from the government of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

He has appealed against the ruling, but judges ruled that because of the “exceptional gravity” of his guilty verdict, he had to go to prison while the legal challenge proceeded.

Unprecedented Significance

The former leader, who served as France’s conservative leader between 2007 and 2012, is the first former head of an EU country to be imprisoned in prison, and the initial leader since WWII to be incarcerated.

Personal Statement

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I was completely unaware or desire to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I am innocent of … I never imagined that at 70 years of age, I’d be in prison. It’s an challenge that has been imposed on me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

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

Defense Lawyers Comments

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He said of 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, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure out of prison than within. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a adjacent room when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Prison Conditions

The former president has been held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an private room of about 9 sq metres, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Accounts indicated that he had been consuming solely yogurt in prison as he feared any food might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Encouragement from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week posted a video of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it claimed had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a chocolate bar and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

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 imprisoned but breaks out to take revenge.

Legal Proceedings Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had told the court that Sarkozy entered into a “corrupt agreement” of dishonesty with one of the worst rulers of the last three decades.

Sarkozy denied wrongdoing and said 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 corruption, misuse of Libyan public funds and unlawful political financing. After the state prosecutor 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 clandestine financial agreement with the North African government formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s highest distinction, the Légion d’honneur.

The former president had previously become the initial ex-leader forced to wear an monitoring device after being found guilty in a different matter 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 had the device for a quarter year before being granted conditional release.