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The former French president has declared that his stay in prison has been “gruelling” and a “nightmare” as he appeared via remote connection at a court hearing regarding his petition to serve his sentence at home.

Legal Proceeding from Prison

Sarkozy, wearing a navy blue suit, appeared on camera from prison on Monday, positioned at a desk with his legal representatives beside him. He told the court: “I want to commend all the prison staff, who are exceptionally humane, and who have eased this difficult situation – because it is a nightmare.”

Background of the Legal Situation

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 scheme to obtain funds for his 2007 presidential election campaign 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 guilty verdict, he had to be incarcerated while the appeals process took its course.

Historical Importance

The former leader, 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 go behind bars.

Emotional Testimony

Sarkozy told the court from prison: “I never had any idea or intention to ask Mr Gaddafi for any kind of financing … I will not admit to something I didn’t do … I never imagined that at this stage of life, I’d be in prison. It’s an ordeal that has been forced upon me. I confess it’s difficult, it’s very hard. It has an impact on any prisoner because it’s gruelling.”

He said he would not try to communicate with any accused individuals or testifiers in the case. He said: “I’m French, I am patriotic, my family is in France. This situation 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 resilient, robust and courageous man and this detention has been very painful for him.”

In court, a different legal representative, Christophe Ingrain, who had seen him daily, asserted Sarkozy would be more secure outside jail than inside. “He has received threats against his life, has heard screaming at night and the emergency response in a neighbouring cell when a prisoner self-harmed,” he stated.

Present Situation

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

Prison Conditions

The former president has been placed in isolation for his own security, in an private room of about 97 square feet, with his own washing facility and toilet. Security personnel are occupying a neighbouring cell to ensure his safety.

Accounts indicated that he had been eating only yoghurt in prison as he feared any meal might have been tampered with. He had been given the opportunity to cook for himself but refused this.

Support from the Public

His online presence last week shared a recording of numerous correspondences, cards and packages it said had been delivered to his attention, including a collage, a sweet treat and a book. “No correspondence will go unanswered,” his account declared. “The final chapter has not yet been written.”

Items in Prison

The former leader brought with him a life story of Christ as well as The Count of Monte Cristo, the famous work in which an wrongly accused individual is sentenced to jail but escapes to seek retribution.

Court Case Details

During the lengthy court case, the state attorney had informed the judges that Sarkozy engaged in a “Faustian pact of corruption with one of the most unspeakable dictators of the last 30 years.

The accused maintained his innocence and said he had not been part of a illegal scheme to obtain campaign finances 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 appealed against these acquittals, Sarkozy will be re-tried on all the accusations next year, including criminal conspiracy.

Prior Legal Issues

Although the claims of a secret campaign funding pact with the Libyan regime formed the biggest corruption trial Sarkozy had encountered, he had already been found guilty in two different proceedings and lost France’s top honor, the Légion d’honneur.

Sarkozy had previously become the first former French head of state forced to wear an monitoring device 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 worn around the ankle. He wore the tag for a quarter year before being allowed limited freedom.