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The former French president has asserted that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and an “ordeal” as he was present via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his request to serve his sentence at home.

Court Appearance from Behind Bars

The former leader, wearing a navy blue suit, was visible on screen from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Context of the Case

The former president entered La Santé prison in Paris on 21 October, after being handed a five-year jail sentence for illegal collaboration over a plan to secure financing 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 legal challenge proceeded.

Historical 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

The former president stated to the judges from prison: “I never had any idea or desire 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 ordeal that has been forced upon me. I admit it’s difficult, it’s extremely challenging. It leaves a mark 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 caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

His legal representative Jean-Michel Darrois, positioned beside him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in isolation has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a strong, durable and courageous man and this detention has caused him great suffering.”

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

Current Status

The state prosecutor 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 held in solitary confinement for his own safety, in an individual cell 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 was concerned any meal might have been contaminated. He had been offered the facilities to prepare his own meals but refused this.

Support from Outside

His online presence last week shared a video 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 end of the story has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

Sarkozy brought with him a life story of Christ as well as the classic novel, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an wrongly accused individual is imprisoned but escapes to take revenge.

Court Case Details

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 most unspeakable dictators of the last three decades.

Sarkozy maintained his innocence and stated he had not been part of a criminal conspiracy to seek election funding from Libya.

He was found not guilty of three separate charges of dishonesty, misuse of Libyan public funds and illegal election campaign funding. After the state prosecutor also appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including illegal collaboration.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact 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 top honor, 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 electronic tag worn around the ankle. He had the device for three months before being granted conditional release.