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Ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy has declared that his period of incarceration has been “exhausting” and a “nightmare” as he was present via video link at a judicial proceeding regarding his petition to complete his jail term at home.

Court Appearance from Prison

Sarkozy, dressed in a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from jail on Monday, seated at a table with his lawyers beside him. He informed the judges: “I want to commend all the correctional officers, who are exceptionally humane, and who have made this nightmare bearable – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

Sarkozy entered La Santé prison 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 be incarcerated while the legal challenge took its course.

Unprecedented Importance

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

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 not admit to something I didn’t do … 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 hard, it’s extremely challenging. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any defendants or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I love my country, my family is in France. This situation has caused them pain a lot.”

Defense Lawyers Observations

Sarkozy’s lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois, sitting next to him in the prison video link room, said: “Being in solitary confinement has been extremely difficult for him.” He commented on Sarkozy: “He’s a resilient, durable and brave man and this imprisonment has been very painful for him.”

In court, another of Sarkozy’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain, who had visited him every day, said Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has listened to shouts at night and the urgent intervention in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he said.

Current Status

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

Prison Conditions

Sarkozy has been placed in isolation for his own safety, in an individual cell of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Two bodyguards are occupying a neighbouring cell to protect him.

Reports suggested that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any food might have been contaminated. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Support from Outside

Sarkozy’s social media account last week shared a video of piles of letters, cards and packages it said had been sent to him, including a collection, a sweet treat and a volume. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been determined.”

Items in Prison

The former leader took into prison a biography of Jesus as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas’s novel in which an innocent man is imprisoned but breaks out to seek retribution.

Court Case Particulars

During the lengthy court case, the public prosecutor had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “corrupt agreement” of corruption with one of the worst rulers of the last 30 years.

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

He was acquitted of three distinct accusations of dishonesty, improper handling of state money and illegal election campaign funding. After the public attorney also challenged these acquittals, Sarkozy will be judged again on all the charges next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Previous Convictions

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